NEW YORK, May 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended higher on Friday, as investors appeared more optimistic as they headed into the Memorial Day weekend.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.33 points, or 0.01 percent, to 39,069.59. The S&P 500 added 36.88 points, or 0.70 percent, to 5,304.72. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased by 184.76 points, or 1.10 percent, to 16,920.79.
Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with communication services and technology leading the gainers by going up 1.29 percent and 1.13 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, health bucked the trend by dropping 0.31 percent.
The final reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index was 69.1 in May, down from 77.2 in April, according to the survey released Friday. Expectations for inflation edged up from a month earlier, staying above the average seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The sentiment reading was a little higher than economists' expectations, but consumers set out a more pessimistic view of current conditions and the coming months.
U.S. inflation in April stood at 3.4 percent, the first time in months it hasn't come in higher than expected. "Deteriorating expectations suggest that multiple factors pose downside risk for consumer spending," said survey director Joanne Hsu.
Orders for durable goods increased by 0.7 percent in April, marking the third consecutive monthly gain, according to the Commerce Department's report on Friday. This rise defied economists' expectations, who had predicted a 0.5 percent decline in durable goods orders, as surveyed by the Wall Street Journal. Notably, this is the first time durable goods orders have experienced three consecutive monthly increases since spring 2023. Excluding transportation, orders rose by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields eased up, with the benchmark 10-year yield hovering 4.467 percent, and 2-year yield at 4.948 percent as of 2:30 p.m. EDT.
On the corporate front, Nvidia continued its upward momentum on Friday, rising by 2.57 percent to close at 1,064.69 U.S. dollars per share. The company's recent impressive earnings report sparked an early rally on Thursday, and the upcoming stock split is expected to attract more retail investors. Deckers, the parent company of apparel brands UGG, Hoka One One, and Teva, saw its shares surge by 14.18 percent on Friday afternoon. The boost came after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that exceeded Wall Street expectations, with net sales reaching 959.8 million dollars.
