The Dow Industrial Average reached an intraday high of 40,257, which would have been sufficient for a record close. The previous record close was set on May 17, when the index closed above 40,000 for the first time ever at 40,003.60. However, late-day selling pushed the price below 40,000, before a last-minute rally brought it just above this key milestone. Ultimately, the index closed at 40,000.91, up 247.13 points or 0.62%.

The S&P 500 was also poised to close at a record level going into the last hour of trading but retreated, ending below Wednesday’s record at 5635.39. Despite reaching a new intraday high of 5655.56, the index closed at 5615.34, up 30.79 points or 0.55%.

The NASDAQ index faced a tougher day yesterday, with a decline of 364 points or 1.95%. Today, it saw an intraday rise of 273 points, recouping some of the previous day’s losses, but fell back in the last hour of trading. The index closed at 18,398.45, up 115.04 points or 0.63%, below its record high close of 18,647.45 set on Wednesday.

For the trading week:

• Dow Industrial Average average, +1.59%
• S&P index, +0.86%
• NASDAQ index, +0.25%
• Russell 2000 which rose 1.09% at its best week since October 30, 2023 with a gain of 5.996%

Leading the Dow stocks this week were:

• Intel: 7.71%
• Home Depot: 7.53%
• Amgen: 6.45%
• UnitedHealth: 4.87%
• Travelers: 4.83%
• IBM: 3.85%
• Goldman Sachs: 3.43%

Goldman, UnitedHealth, Travelers will all announce earnings next week.

How did the Magnificent 7 do this week?

Only Nvidia and Apple rose. Meta Platforms was the worst performer with a decline of -7.62%. Nvidia rose by 2.72%

• NVIDIA: 2.72%
• Apple: 1.86%
• Tesla: -1.31%
• Amazon.com: -2.75%
• Alphabet A: -2.89%
• Microsoft: -2.95%
• Meta Platforms: -7.62%

This article was written by Greg Michalowski at www.forexlive.com.