S&P 500 closes at record as US indexes bounce back from losses

ANKARA

S&P 500 closed at a new record high level on Friday as major indexes in the US stock market bounced back strongly to recover from the previous day's major losses.

The S&P 500 added 48 points, or 1.1%, to end the day at 4,369. The Dow Jones soared 448 points, or 1.3%, to 34,870, while the Nasdaq rose 142 points, or 1%, to 14,701.

All three indexes plummeted more than 0.7% on Thursday, posting their worst daily decline since June 18, with investors' worries amid rising new coronavirus cases around the world dampening positive outlook for global economic recovery.

Supported with falling volatility, investors used excess liquidity and moved to equities, which pushed the dollar index lower by 0.3% to 92.11. The VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, plummeted 14.8% to 16.18, retreating significantly from the 20 level it was hovering around on Thursday.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury, on the other hand, increased 5.5% to 1.359%.

Despite the rise in indexes, precious metals have still been acting as safe haven against uncertainty of high virus cases and worries amid rising inflation around the world.

Gold was up for the eighth consecutive day by adding 0.3% to $1,808 per ounce. Silver was up 0.7% to $26.11 an ounce.

After OPEC and its allies, the group dubbed as OPEC+, failed to agree on the extension and amount of its crude production cuts, oil prices have continued to increase due to rising global demand and limited supply.

Price of Brent crude was up 2% at $75.62 per barrel, hovering around its highest level since late 2018. The US' West Texas Intermediate rose 2.4% to $74.69 a barrel -- highest since late 2014.

Investors will be focusing on second quarter earnings of US companies next week starting with banking majors on Tuesday.