Stock Markets Soar: S&P 500's Longest Winning Streak in Over Two Decades!
Stretch of Uninterrupted Gains in S&P 500 Spans More Than Two Decades
Wall Street is booming once more with the U.S. stock market rallying into the weekend! Positive economic data and signs of easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China have sent investors into a buying frenzy, resulting in shares of a language learning app skyrocketing.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 1.4% to reach 41,317.43 points on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the broad-based S&P 500 each recorded gains of 1.5%, reaching 17,977.72 and 5,686.67 points, respectively. This impressive nine-day winning streak for the S&P 500 is its longest since the year 2004!
Melissa Brown, a manager at research firm Simcorp, observes, "Employment data suggests that the U.S. economy remains strong, but we're not there yet in terms of tariffs having their full impact."
In April, the U.S. economy added a solid 177,000 jobs outside of agriculture. Furthermore, comments from China's government about the possibility of negotiations to resolve current trade disputes added a positive sentiment, even with tariffs that now exceed 100% being imposed by both nations.
However, analysts such as Paul Nolte of Murphy & Sylvest warn, "Right now, it's just words. We'll have to see what happens in practice." The consensus and uncertainty surrounding tariffs have investors cautiously optimistic.
Above all, the industrial metal copper gained 1.6%, reaching $9,356 per tonne, as investors attempted to gauge the peak of tariffs for now. Meanwhile, investors are skeptical with the upcoming OPEC+ meeting on Saturday casting a shadow over markets, as experts anticipate major oil-exporting countries will agree to increase oil production despite the global recession threat from U.S. trade wars.
Duolingo Hits a Record High
The language learning app Duolingo was among the top gainers on the U.S. stock market. Stakes in the company surged up to 20%, reaching a record high of $480.58, after the company increased its full-year guidance due to the success of AI-powered features.
Apple shares, on the other hand, struggled despite posting surprisingly strong quarterly outcomes. CEO Tim Cook acknowledged an additional $900 million in costs for the current quarter due to the U.S. trade policies. Additionally, the company's share buyback—at $100 billion—was $10 billion below the previous year, which analysts found puzzling.
Shares of Take-Two suffered a 6.8% drop following the postponement of the much-awaited release of "Grand Theft Auto VI" to May 2026—originally set for this fall. To date, over 200 million copies of the 2013 predecessor "GTA V" have been sold.
For more on today's market activity, click here.
Keywords: Stock prices, Stock trading, Wall Street, Dow Jones
[1] Boosting Investor Confidence: Top Tech Giants Beat Q1 Expectations and Pioneer Aggressive AI Investments - Latest Business News, Finance, & Stock Market Updates | Reuters[2] Strong U.S. Labor Market Bolstered Amid Ongoing Inflation Concerns - Live Market Insights, Economic Data, & Real-Time Developments | The Wall Street Journal
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- Optimism towards the employment sector is galore, as repeated increases in employment policies have sparked increased interest among investors, particularly in the community.
- The financial sector shows a rose-tinted outlook as a flurry of investments in technology-based businesses is expected, fueled by the soaring stock prices, especially in companies like Duolingo that have shown significant growth.
- Despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching an impressive 41,317.43 points, some analysts have voiced concerns about the current optimism, as tariffs still loom over negotiations and uncertainty remains.
- The positive sentiment surrounding employment policies is not only limited to Wall Street, as businesses continue to express their agreement on the boost to the economy that increased employment can provide, potentially leading to increased exporting amidst optimistic forecasts.
- As the global market eagerly awaits the outcome of the OPEC+ meeting, the finance world watches to see if major oil-exporting countries will agree to finance an increase in oil production despite trading tensions and the threat of a global recession.