Last week, stock prices rose on global exchanges, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices reaching new record levels on Wall Street.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones strengthened by 1.2 percent last week, reaching 42,863 points, while the S&P 500 rose by 1.1 percent to 5,815 points, as did the Nasdaq index, which reached 18,342 points.
The new records for the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices are primarily attributed to the growth of the financial sector, after several major banks reported better-than-expected quarterly results on Friday. For instance, the stock price of JPMorgan Chase jumped more than 4 percent, and Wells Fargo increased by more than 5 percent. This marked the beginning of the season for the release of business reports from companies and banks for the third quarter, which will significantly influence market direction in the coming weeks.
By Friday, caution prevailed on the largest global exchange as speculation about further sharp interest rate cuts by the U.S. central bank had completely subsided, given that inflation in the U.S. is not easing as much as investors had hoped. Last week, it was reported that consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent month-on-month and 2.4 percent year-on-year in September. These prices, as well as the core inflation rate, which stood at 3.3 percent, were slightly higher than analysts had expected in a Reuters survey.
