Wall Street wrapped up its fourth straight week of gains on Friday, reaching its highest levels in four months, despite jittery trade marked by a cautioning by the Federal Reserve.
The week ended with its strongest rally this month, even though trade volume remained low compared to previous years as investors still faced uncertainty over the US recovery.
“This is a very difficult period of time, it is open question as to how long it lasts,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economist strategist at Miller Tabak.
Traders opened the week on a cheery note, with markets jumping after a report said the US economy had ended its most sustained downturn since World War II in June last year.
The announcement on the end of the recession “heartened investors,” analyst Gregori Volokhine of Meerschaert New York said.
The mood was then tainted after US Federal Reserve on Tuesday cautioned that the US economic recovery had slowed, vowing to take new stimulus measures if necessary, sparking concerns on Wall Street.
The Fed’s warning had an immediate impact on the US dollar, sending the euro higher from US$1.30 on Tuesday to US$1.34 on Friday.
Stock indexes took a second bashing on Thursday after the US Labor Department released figures showing that the number of Americans asking for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week.
However, Friday saw a very strong rally on the back of manufacturing data, which, although being mostly negative, did offer some hope that a slow recovery was under way.
The week ahead will see new reports on jobless claims and consumer confidence, as investors try to gauge the strength of the US economy, which relies heavily on consumer purchases.
Friday’s ISM manufacturing index is expected to show a continued rise in the key sector that has been the driving power behind the country’s recovery.
For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.38 percent to 10,860.26. The broader S&P 500 index gained 2.05 percent to 1,148.67.
The technology-rich NASDAQ composite index ramped up 2.83 percent to 2,381.22.
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: MOFA demanded Beijing stop its military intimidation and ‘irrational behavior’ that endanger peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region The Presidential Office yesterday called on China to stop all “provocative acts,” saying ongoing Chinese military activity in the nearby waters of Taiwan was a “blatant disruption” of the “status quo” of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Defense officials said they have detected Chinese ships since Monday, both off Taiwan and farther out along the first island chain. They described the formations as two walls designed to demonstrate that the waters belong to China. The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the nation over the past 24 hours, as well
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