A measure of how much tech stocks dominated the stock market over the past six months can be seen in the fact that the S&P 500 Index is up 16% year to date while the Nasdaq 100 Index is up 38%.

The tech-heavy index is on track to post its second-best 6-month period ever, only behind the 61% surge seen in the second half of 1999.

Chart Of The day: Apple Hits All-Time Highs, Reaches $3 Trillion Market Cap

Cues From Friday's Trading:

The S&P 500 gained 1%, putting it on track for a 2.1% gain for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% on the day, up 1.8% for the week.

The Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.4%, pushing the weekly performance to 1.8%.

The Russell 2000 rose 0.6%, gaining 3.8% for the week, putting it on track for the best weekly performance since the end of March 2023.

U.S. Indices’ Performance on Friday

Almost all U.S. equity sectors were positive, except for the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE).

Latest Economic Data:

In May 2023, the U.S. personal consumption expenditure price index increased 3.8% year-on-year, the lowest reading since April 2021, compared to a downwardly revised 4.3% increase in April.

Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, increased 4.6% year-on-year, compared to market expectations of 4.7%, and April’s 4.7% increase.

Personal spending in the United States increased by 0.1% in May 2023, falling short of both market expectations of a 0.2% increase and April’s 0.6% increase.

The Chicago Business Barometer, also known as the Chicago PMI, rose to 41.5 points in June 2023, up from 40.4 points in May 2023, but still fell short of market expectations of 44.

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for the United States was revised higher to 64.4 in June 2023, the highest in four months, from a preliminary number of 63.9.

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Stocks In Focus:

Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil rose 1.1%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude trading above $70. The United States Oil Fund ETF (NYSE:USO) was 1% higher to $63.60.  

Treasury yields fell slightly, after rising the day before, with the 10-year yield up down 3 basis points to 3.81% and the two-year yield flat at 4.87%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:TLT) was 0.8% higher at midday. 

The dollar fell, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF (NYSE:UUP), down 0.5%. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust (NYSE:FXE), was 0.5% higher to 1.0916.

European equity indexes closed in the green. The SPDR Euro Stoxx 50 ETF  (NYSE:FEZ) rose 1.5%. 

Staff writer Piero Cingari updated this report midday Friday. 

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