Benzinga - by Akanksha Bakshi, Benzinga Editor.
On Friday, April 26th, the U.S. stock markets closed higher, supported by strong earnings from tech leaders and mild inflation data.
The market reacted positively to Alphabet’s first dividend and a $70 billion buyback, driving its shares up 10% and lifting its valuation above $2 trillion.
Related: Alphabet’s Blockbuster Results Highlight Its Transition From AI Laggard To Going ‘On The Offensive’: 11 Analysts Revise Forecasts After Q1 Results
Economic data showed the Federal Reserve’s key inflation gauge, the PCE price index, climbed to 2.7% in March from 2.5% in February, surpassing forecasts of 2.6%.
Six of the eleven main S&P 500 sectors ended higher, led by communication services, technology, consumer discretionary, and materials.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.40% to close at 38,239.66. The S&P 500 was up 1.02%, ending the day at 5,099.96, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.03%, finishing the session at 15,927.90.
Asian Markets Today
- On Monday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index closed higher by 0.81% at 37,934.76, led by gains in the Electrical/Machinery, Gas & Water, and Chemical, Petroleum & Plastic sectors.
- In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 index closed the session up by 0.81% at 7,637.40, led by gains in the IT, A-REITs, and Telecoms Services sectors.
- India’s Nifty 50 was up 1.00% at 22,643.40, and Nifty 500 was trading higher by 0.73% at 20,992.
- China’s Shanghai Composite gained 0.79% to end the session at 3,113.04, and the Shenzhen CSI 300 rose 1.11%, closing at 3,623.91.
- Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index gained 0.54%, concluding the day at 17,746.91.
- The European STOXX 50 index was down 0.14%.
- Germany’s DAX declined 0.06%.
- France’s CAC rose 0.08%.
- U.K.’s FTSE 100 traded higher by 0.55%.
- Crude Oil WTI was trading lower by 0.23 % at $83.66/bbl, and Brent was down 0.31% at $87.93 bbl.
- Natural Gas gained 1.72% to $1.956.
- Gold was trading higher by 0.21% at $2,352.00, Silver gained 0.54% to $27.685, while Copper was up 0.78% at $4.6105.
Dow futures were up 0.08%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.13%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 0.21%.
Forex at 05:45 AM ET
- The U.S. Dollar Index slipped 0.24% to 105.68, USD/JPY was down 1.61% to 155.80, and USD/AUD declined 0.55% to 1.5235.
- The yen surged against the dollar on Monday, as traders attributed the rise to Japanese authorities intervening to support the currency, which had been at its lowest in over thirty years.
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