Freight forwarder JB Hunt Transport Services led the way for the S&P 500, which posted a 5% gain after reporting larger summer profits than Wall Street expected. Goldman Sachs and Prologis each rose more than 2% on better-than-expected earnings reports, while Alcoa jumped 11.3% after beating earnings expectations and announcing a dividend payout and the repurchase of its shares.
They concurred with a report showing people spent significantly more at U.S. retailers last month than Wall Street expected. Sales at stores, restaurants and other retail businesses rose 0.7% from August instead of falling as economists had forecast.
Friday’s gain follows a 1.7% jump for the S&P 500 on Thursday, its best day since March, which was driven by stronger-than-expected earnings reports and encouraging labor market data. The S&P 500 is on track for a 1.8% gain for the week and its best weekly performance since July.
It’s a turnaround after a few volatile weeks, when the S&P 500 fell 5.2% from its September 2 high. price around. The S&P 500 is back within 1.5% of its all-time high.
Treasury yields also rose on the back of the much stronger than expected retail sales report. The yield on the 10-year note climbed to 1.57% from 1.52% Thursday night.
Overseas equity markets were also strong. In Europe, the Geramny SAX gained 0.7% and the French CAC 40 gained 0.8%. The FTSE 100 in London rose 0.4%.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 1.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.5% and Seoul’s Kospi 0.9%.
The benchmark US oil price rose 1.3% to $ 82.37 per barrel, continuing a powerful run that has pushed it up nearly 70% this year and stoked concerns about high inflation. The global benchmark crude index also climbed 1%, although the price of US natural gas fell 1.4%.
