Stock Market News September 13, 2024

Stock markets rose on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posting their strongest week of 2024 ahead of the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.

the Standard & Poor's 500 The Saudi stock market index rose 0.54% to close at 5,626.02, less than 1% from its all-time high in July. Nasdaq Composite The Egyptian and Kuwaiti stock exchange indices rose 0.65% to close at 17,683.98 points. Both indices recorded their fifth consecutive day of gains. Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dubai Financial Market index rose 297.01 points, or 0.72%, to close at 41,393.78 points.

Utilities, telecoms and industrials led the market higher on Friday, with each sector adding about 1%.

Investors also continued to buy shares of technology and semiconductor giants, helping drive this week's rally after recent tech stocks' weak performance. supercomputer and Arm Holding It added 3.4% and 5.9% respectively. alphabet Up 1.8% and Uber It jumped more than 6%.

“Investors are on alert for more bouts of volatility, especially given the expectations surrounding the Fed meeting,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial. Based on historical patterns, stocks typically have their worst performance of the year in the second half of September, she noted.

For the week, the S&P 500 rose 4%, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 5.9%, the best week this year for both indices. The Dow advanced 2.6% for the period.

Wall Street is now looking ahead to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting on September 17-18, where the central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points. The Fed’s target rate is currently 5.25% to 5.5%.

Economic data reflecting slowing inflation also seemed to support the case for a rate cut. The consumer price index in August came in at 2.5% year-on-year, the lowest since February 2021. Meanwhile, wholesale prices rose 0.2% in August, in line with expectations.