A Memorable Day on Wall Street

On Wall Street on Friday, the S&P 500 reached a new high in five years, and the Nasdaq index in 12 years, thanks to strong earnings reports from technology companies and encouraging data on international trade.

The Dow Jones index strengthened by 48 points, or 0.35 percent, to 13,992 points, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.57 percent to 1,517 points, and the Nasdaq index by 0.91 percent to 3,193 points. The rise in the indices was primarily due to the increase in stock prices in the technology sector, after AOL and LinkedIn reported better-than-expected earnings in the last quarter of last year. LinkedIn’s stock price jumped more than 21 percent, and AOL’s by more than 7 percent, leading the S&P technology sector index to strengthen by 1 percent, while the Nasdaq, filled with technology stocks, recorded a greater increase than the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices. Positive market influences also came from data indicating a revival in international trade, suggesting a strengthening of global demand.

China’s imports and exports surged by more than 20 percent year-on-year in January. Germany recorded a massive trade surplus last year, a feat only achieved once in the last 60 years, while the U.S. trade deficit slid to its lowest level in three years in December last year. “These data have strengthened optimism regarding the recovery of the global economy,” says Fred Dickson, a strategist at D. A. Davidson.

Trading volume was lower than average this week due to a snowstorm affecting the northeastern part of the U.S. Despite yesterday’s rise, the Dow Jones weakened by 0.1 percent for the entire week. However, the Nasdaq strengthened by 0.4 percent, and the S&P 500 index by 0.3 percent, marking the sixth consecutive week of growth.

European stock prices also rose yesterday. The London FTSE index strengthened by 0.57 percent to 6,263 points, while the Frankfurt DAX rose by 0.81 percent to 7,652 points, and the Paris CAC by 1.35 percent to 3,649 points.