US stocks close higher
U
S stocks ended week on a positive note as Wall Street digested a slew of economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 50.46 points, or 0.17 per cent, to close at 29,348.10 on Friday. The Siamp;P 500 rose 12.81 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 3,329.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 31.81 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 9,388.94, Xinhua reported.
Nine of the 11 primary Siamp;P 500 sectors closed higher, with communication services up 0.9 per cent, leading the gainers. Energy declined 0.66 per cent, the worst-performing group.
On the data front, US privately-owned housing starts jumped 16.9 per cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.608 million units in December, the Department of Commerce reported Friday. Economists polled by Reuters forecast housing starts would increase to a pace of 1.375 million units in December.
Wall Street also paid close attention to corporate earnings.
The fourth-quarter corporate earnings season kicked off this week, with low expectations for profit growth. Earnings are expected to decline by 0.6 per cent for the Siamp;P 500, Refinitiv estimated.
More than 8 per cent of the Siamp;P 500 has reported quarterly results thus far, according to FactSet. Of those companies, 72 per cent have posted better-than-expected earnings.
✔️ US stocks close higher
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