U.S. markets and stock exchange traded funds rose Friday as upbeat economic data helped support broad market gains.
On Friday, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) was up 0.5%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEArca: DIA) was 0.5% higher and SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) rose 0.1%.
Bolstering broad market sentiment, IHS Markit surveys revealed business activity snapped back to the highest level since early 2019 in the United States over August as both manufacturing and services sectors enjoyed a resurgence in new orders, Reuters reports.
Furthermore, U.S. home sales increased at a record pace for a second consecutive month in July while home prices hit all-time highs.
The upbeat data on business activity and the housing sector helped alleviate some concerns over the economy that continues to see elevated levels of weekly jobless claims, which reveal an uneven economic recovery from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic’s effects.
“The uncertainty and choppiness are driving people back to some of the more traditional trades that have stayed immune through the course of the pandemic,” Mike Stritch, chief investment officer at BMO Wealth Management, told Reuters.
For example, technology-focused company stocks have helped both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite move on pace to close the week out even higher. The S&P 500 even joined the Nasdaq in breaking into all-time highs this week.
“It was a very reluctant high,” Anna Rathbun, Chief Investment Officer of CBIZ Investment Advisory Services, told the Wall Street Journal. “There wasn’t a lot of breadth behind it.”
Meanwhile, investors continued to watch Capitol Hill for the next stimulus package installment, which has stalled in Congress as the House Democrats and the White House are unable to find common ground.
“The market will move higher, but it will be very slow and irregular one, at least until there’s a vaccine,” Chuck Lieberman, chief investment officer at Advisors Capital Management, told Reuters.
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