Stocks gained on Friday to set new all-time highs, shaking off declines from a day earlier as concerns over the pace of the economic recovery flared.
The S&P 500 added more than 1% led by the financials, materials and energy sectors that had been some of Thursday’s biggest laggards. The Dow and Nasdaq also set fresh record closing highs by the end of the session, taking out previous highs from earlier this week. U.S. Treasury yields also gained to reverse course from Thursday, and the 10-year yield added more than 5 basis points to trade back above 1.3%.
U.S. equity investors have been appraising the likelihood that a surge in the Delta variant of the coronavirus could weigh more heavily on global growth than previously anticipated. In Japan, the Tokyo Olympics arenow set to be held without fans later this month due to a jump in COVID cases in the country. And in China, an executive body signaled the country’s central bank might cut its reserve requirement ratio for the first time since mid-2020, in an easing monetary policy move that would suggest a lack of confidence in the country’s economic recovery.
