Stocks Continue Rally into Last Month of '23.
December 01,2023 12:27 pm EST
The Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its gains on Friday after it notched a new 2023 high and capped off its best month in more than a year.
The 30-stock index zoomed 210.04 points at 36,160.93, bringing its year-to-date gain to about 9%.
The S&P 500 recovered 19.78 points to 4,587.58.
The NASDAQ gathered 31.31 points, to 14,257.52.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday pushed back against the market's expectations for interest rate cuts ahead, saying it is “premature to conclude with confidence” that monetary policy is “sufficiently restrictive.”
Data released earlier Friday showed that U.S. manufacturing remained at low levels in November, according to the Institute for Supply
Management, which said that its manufacturing PMI was unchanged at 46.7 last month. November was the 13th straight month during which the PMI came out below 50, which is an indicator of a slowdown in manufacturing.
November's gains snapped a three-month losing streak. The S&P jumped 8.9% and the NASDAQ rallied 10.7%, to notch their best monthly performances since July 2022. The Dow surged 8.8% for its best month since October 2022.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury strode upward, lowering yields to 4.26% from Thursday's 4.33%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 28 cents to $76.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices climbed $22.70 to $2,060.80.
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