NEW YORK, July 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended modestly higher on Friday, capping a pivotal trading week after the debut by South Korean semiconductor maker SK Hynix re-energized the AI trade and a moderate cooling in crude prices offset hawkish policy reminders from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29 percent to 52,637.01. The S&P 500 added 0.42 percent to 7,575.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 0.29 percent to 26,281.61.
Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the green, with materials and communication services leading the gainers by going up 1.12 percent and 0.92 percent, respectively. Health bucked the trend, declining 0.81 percent.
The day's premier financial event centered on the Nasdaq debut of SK Hynix, a primary supplier of high-bandwidth memory to Nvidia. Trading under the ticker symbol SKHYV following its 26.5-billion-U.S.-dollar share sale, the equity opened at 170 dollars per share and closed at 168.01 dollars, representing a 12.76 percent increase over the issue price at 149 dollars.
It also stabilized broader technology sentiment, allowing other memory manufacturers to erase initial morning losses. SanDisk and Western Digital advanced 3.1 percent and 0.78 percent, respectively, while competitor Micron Technology still faced downward pressure, finishing 1.24 percent lower.
Macroeconomic developments drew significant attention as the Federal Reserve delivered its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report to Congress. Fed policymakers explicitly affirmed that the central bank "will deliver price stability," emphasizing that while current inflation metrics remain elevated, service-sector price pressures are expected to be transitory.
The Fed noted that ongoing price increases are primarily driven by external supply-side shocks, specifically mentioning energy disruptions from the Middle East conflict, tariffs on consumer goods, and an intense global demand spike for advanced semiconductors required to build out corporate data centers.
Commodity markets experienced a slight easing of the geopolitical risk. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery declined 0.93 percent to settle at 71.41 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for September delivery edged down 0.38 percent to finish at 76.01 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
In corporate earnings news, Delta Air Lines was down 1.81 percent despite reporting second-quarter financial results that exceeded Wall Street expectations and reinstating its full-year fiscal guidance. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said that airline fares would stay elevated even if jet fuel prices fall.
"Most U.S. carriers were already struggling to earn their cost of capital against a backdrop where industry airfares have meaningfully trailed inflation, costs have reset higher, and consumer preferences have evolved," he said.
