The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose to record levels in Friday’s intraday trade, helped by US retail sales data that pointed to steady consumer spending, CNBC reported.
The Dow climbed 135 points, or 0.3 per cent, supported by a 10 per cent rise in UnitedHealth shares after filings showed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management bought stock in the company during the second quarter. The Dow briefly surpassed the previous peak of 45,073.63 touched on December 4. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3 per cent.
Figures released on Friday showed US retail sales rose 0.5 per cent in July, meeting the Dow Jones forecast. Sales excluding cars rose 0.3 per cent, also matching estimates.
For the week, the Dow gained 2 per cent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each rose more than 1 per cent, supported earlier by inflation data that increased expectations the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates next month.
Those expectations were tempered on Thursday after wholesale inflation came in higher than expected. “I don’t think that one data point is enough to change a thesis around the trajectory of inflation,” Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, told CNBC. “Our base case remains that this is going to ultimately be viewed as transitory by the market.”
In corporate news, Intel gained 3 per cent after Bloomberg reported that the administration of US President Donald Trump is discussing taking a government stake in the company.
Semiconductor stocks were weaker after Applied Materials gave lower-than-expected forecasts for earnings and revenue, citing an expected drop in China sales. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF fell 2 per cent.