Market Roundup: S&P Has Positive Week with New Record Highs

Published: April 29, 2019, 9:04 p.m.

Indices kicked off the week mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average trading fractionally lower, while the S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ Composite added slight gains for the session. Meanwhile, crude oil climbed to a six-month peak level. West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 2.6% to settle at $65.73 per barrel. In housing news, the National Association of Realtors showed existing home sales decreased by 4.9% to an annual rate of 5.21 million units in March. Economists had forecast a lesser dip of 3.8% to a rate of 5.30 million. Tuesday was the day for gains as the S&P 500 and NASDAQ ended trading at new record levels. Continuing with housing data, the Commerce Department showed new home sales jumped up 4.5% to an annual rate of 692,000 units in March, a level not seen since November 2017. The high was short-lived as the major indices landed in the red zone on Wednesday after a choppy session. The Energy and Basic Materials sectors led the market lower. Indices traded with mixed moves on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index closed slightly in the red while the NASDAQ posted gains. Durable goods orders ticked up in March, as orders for manufactured products jumped 2.7%. Up from a downswing in February, the results were better than expected. The market swung to the positive on Friday with favorable GDP data that offset less-than-optimum earnings. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, first-quarter gross domestic product expanded by 3.2%. Economists had anticipated a lesser expansion of 2%. On another note, consumer confidence slipped in April. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 97.2 from 98.4 in March.