NEW YORK, June 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks edged higher on Friday ahead of next week's key inflation data and the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 43.17 points, or 0.13 percent, to 33,876.78. The S&P 500 added 4.93 points, or 0.11 percent, to 4,298.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 20.62 points, or 0.16 percent, to 13,259.14.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with materials, energy and utilities leading the laggards by losing 0.82 percent, 0.58 percent and 0.58 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and consumer discretionary led the gainers by rising 0.46 percent and 0.44 percent, respectively.
U.S. stocks rose slightly on Friday with the S&P 500 clinging to its newly minted bull-market status and touching the 4,300 level for the first time since August 2022.
A rally in big technology shares continued and powered the Nasdaq Composite to its longest streak of weekly gains since 2019. Tesla stock, which surged all week long, extended its rally after General Motors (GM) joined Ford in agreeing to use its electric-vehicle charging network. Meanwhile, shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices soared thanks to investors' enthusiasm for artificial intelligence.
"It is hard to have a nice rally in the Nasdaq without some good news for one of the mega-cap tech giants. Tesla has done it again, this time it partnered with GM, joining Ford in using their charging network," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of online multi-asset trading services.
After a tough grind to bull-market territory, U.S. stocks were incrementally edging higher on some corporate news and after a soft Canadian jobs report helped push global bond yields lower. With the S&P 500 entering bull market territory Thursday, many traders would closely watch to see if prices could stay bullish, Moya said on Friday.
The S&P 500 inched further into bull-market territory on Friday, with some investors cheering the milestone after technically exiting bear-market territory while others being cautious about the market momentum.
"The S&P 500 has rallied 20 percent from its recent October 2022 low, prompting some headlines stating that we are now in a new bull market. While many investors believe that passing this milestone puts markets in bull territory, it remains possible that we are seeing a bear market rally -- a period of strong gains that occurs in the middle of a bear market," according to an analysis published by UBS Global Wealth Management on Friday.
"Until markets reach a new all-time high, it's impossible to know whether the bear market trough -- the ultimate low of the market cycle -- is behind us," noted UBS Global Wealth Management. "So, we advise investors against assuming that the recent upswing in equities can gain momentum."
Lacking immediate data to push markets, Friday was relatively quiet. Investors are now waiting for next week's consumer price index numbers and policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, with many believing there could be more volatility next week.
