NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks rode strong US growth data and solid corporate earnings to another record-setting session on Friday, while the euro skidded to a near two-year low against the dollar amid angst over the European economy.
Oil prices also retreated as US President Donald Trump revived a call for OPEC to boost production.
Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at records for the second time this week as official data estimated US first-quarter growth at 3.2 percent, much above analyst expectations and an improvement on the 2.2 percent growth in the final quarter of 2018.
Adding to investor cheer has been a deluge of first-quarter earnings reports that have generally topped expectations.
While there have been a handful of disappointments, “earnings have gone very well,” said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Service, adding one downside of the improved US data for stocks could be a revival of talk that the Federal Reserve will shift course from its current dovish posture.
The S&P 500 shook off early weakness and finished up 0.5 percent at 2,939.88, an all-time high.
In European deals on Friday, London stocks closed 0.1 percent down, hit by news of falling first-quarter profits at British state-rescued lender Royal Bank of Scotland.
Frankfurt gained 0.3 percent while Paris rose 0.2 percent.
“While positive earning numbers have lent massive support to US equities, it’s hard to ignore the inescapable fact that we are back to the divergent economic narrative where the US economy is on fire while ice water continued to pour over the rest of the globe,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.
In further signs of European weakness, the euro hit $1.1112, its lowest level against the dollar since May 2017, before rebounding.
“Currency traders are flocking to the perceived safety of the US dollar as the economic problems of the eurozone continue to play out,” said CMC Markets analyst David Madden.
Oil prices, meanwhile, finished solidly lower, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate ending at $63.30 a barrel, down 2.9 percent.
Trump described his efforts to coax more production from exporters, telling reporters “I called up OPEC. I said, ‘You got to bring them down.’”
Later in the day, Trump declared victory on Twitter, saying “Spoke to Saudi Arabia and others about increasing oil flow. All are in agreement.” US gasoline futures fell on Friday. - AFP
