US close: Wall Street notches up fresh highs amid dollar weakness
Wall Street's main market gauges continued to barrel ahead at the end of the week, helped by another drop in the US dollar and despite a mixed reaction to the latest quarterly earnings from the likes of JPMorgan and Wells Fargo.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrials Average was up by 0.89% or 228.46 points to 25,803.19, alongside an advance of 0.67% or 18.68 points to 2,786.24 on the S&P 500 and a gain of 0.68% or 49.28 points in the Nasdaq Composite to 7,261.06.
Over the week as a whole, the S&P 500 added 1.67%.
In parallel, the US dollar spot index slipped to a new 52-week low of 90.773 on Friday, even as yields on 2-year Treasury notes topped the 2.0% mark for the first time since 2008 after the government reported a larger-than-expected 0.3% rise in 'core' consumer prices.
That reading on the cost of living in the US came alongside a stronger-than-expected 0.4% month-on-month print on December retail sales, which also boosted sentiment.
From a sector standpoint, the best performing areas of the market were: Independent Media Agencies (2.18%), Gold Mining (2.14%), Home Improvement Retialers (2.04%) and Airlines (1.88%).
Dragging the dollar to a three-year low against the euro was news of a breakthrough in German coalition talks after Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union bloc and the Social Democrats agreed to a blueprint for formal coalition negotiations.
GKFX analyst David Morrison said investors were hopeful the US earnings season will provide yet more ammunition for another push higher.
"The major indices continue to record fresh record closes on an almost daily basis now. The latest leg of the rally coming in the wake of Trump’s tax reforms which passed through Congress last month.
"[...] Traders continue to disregard warnings that the market is seriously overvalued while low volatility is disguising dangers inherent in the current frothy environment. Investors are still prepared to extend their exposure to stocks even as developed world central banks withdraw the monetary stimulus which boosted risk assets in the first place."
On the corporate front, earnings season kicked off in style, with money manager BlackRock posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.
Shares of JPMorgan Chase were also active after the lender's fourth-quarter earnings surpassed analysts' expectations, with earnings per share of $1.76 versus forecasts of $1.69.
Wells Fargo also posted better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings per share of $1.16, but that was not enough to push the shares to a fresh 52-week high.
Banking giants Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were scheduled to release their latest earnings next week.
Elsewhere, stock in Facebook was down after the company announced plans to prioritise meaningful social interaction over branded content. In a post on the site, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said branded content was "crowding out the personal moments that lead us to connect more with each other".
Dow Jones - Risers
Boeing Co. (BA) $336.21 2.48%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $40.87 1.92%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $58.66 1.84%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $134.70 1.81%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $89.60 1.73%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $112.67 1.65%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $228.58 1.44%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.46 1.33%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $136.53 1.18%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $177.09 1.03%
Dow Jones - Fallers
General Electric Co. (GE) $18.76 -1.37%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $163.14 -0.65%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $89.59 -0.60%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $51.85 -0.48%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $43.24 -0.39%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $36.54 -0.05%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $173.57 0.10%
Visa Inc. (V) $120.10 0.21%
American Express Co. (AXP) $100.97 0.24%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $46.15 0.24%
S&P 500 - Risers
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $33.76 9.57%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $8.30 7.51%
Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $100.86 5.35%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $16.24 5.31%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $51.26 4.60%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $63.87 4.50%
Target Corp. (TGT) $76.80 3.78%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $22.82 3.77%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $58.47 3.63%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $36.54 3.57%
S&P 500 - Fallers
GameStop Corp. (GME) $17.76 -11.02%
Spectra Energy Corp. (SE) $12.97 -8.85%
AFLAC Inc. (AFL) $84.94 -7.36%
Amer Water Works (AWK) $80.83 -4.61%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $179.37 -4.47%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $73.41 -3.75%
Varian Medical Systems Inc. (VAR) $108.49 -2.73%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $54.83 -2.49%
Essex Prty Trust Inc. (ESS) $227.10 -2.30%
HCP Inc. (HCP) $23.64 -2.19%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $51.26 4.60%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $58.47 3.63%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $195.05 3.24%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $114.84 3.13%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $65.79 2.40%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $115.91 2.34%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $132.36 2.28%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $1,305.20 2.23%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $258.43 2.18%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $74.84 2.10%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Facebook Inc. (FB) $179.37 -4.47%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $112.90 -1.17%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $160.46 -0.98%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $147.55 -0.58%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $419.04 -0.55%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $336.22 -0.51%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $222.98 -0.49%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $46.40 -0.45%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $258.60 -0.44%
Fiserv Inc. (FISV) $137.22 -0.44%