4:05pm: Wall Street closes in the green
After a choppy week, the S&P 500 officially closed out trading in bull market territory to finish at 4,299 points, a 0.1% rise for the day.
Other indices finished on a quiet note but firmly positive: the Nasdaq closed at 13,259, up 0.2%, while the Dow finished ahead 0.1% at 33,877.
Investors already have an eye on next week's US inflation data and Fed decision, according to OANDA's Craig Erlam.
"The focus now is on US inflation data on Tuesday and the Fed on Wednesday. Without being too dramatic, these could really set the tone for the rest of the summer," Erlam wrote.
12:05pm: S&P 500 on track for 4 week winning streak
US stocks were mixed in noon trading as investors await new inflation data along with the Federal Reserve’s latest policy announcement next week.
At midday, the Dow lost 18 points to 33,816, while the S&P 500 added a single point at 4,295 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 3 points to 13,241.
“It’s the first time in a while where investors seem to be feeling a greater, greater sense of certainty,” AXS Investments CEO Greg Bassuk said.
“And we think that’s been a turning point from what had been more of a bearish cautious sentiment,” he added.
Notable movers included shares of Tesla Inc, which jumped 6% after General Motors (GM) announced it would partner with Tesla to use its electric vehicle charging network and technologies.
9:45am: This week's gains more subdued to start Friday
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow was up 21 points to 33,855, the Nasdaq Composite added 82 points, 0.6%, to 13,320 and the S&P 500 improved 14 points, 0.3%, to 4,308.
The S&P 500 is on pace for its fourth consecutive winning week, which would be the index's longest such streak since August 2022. The question is whether this summer will look like last summer for markets.
“It’s unclear whether this is a, let’s say, recession-theme position squeeze that potentially could whipsaw much like August of 2022 when you saw that last push higher in the S&P toward 4,300, or if this is something that’s sustainable,” Jason Hunter, head of technical strategy at JPMorgan, said Thursday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.”
7:50am: Benchmarks set to open little changed
US stocks are expected to start mixed on Friday, largely pausing for breath after strong gains in the previous session which saw the S&P 500 index notch up its highest close for 2023 and officially enter 'bull market' territory.
In pre-market trading, futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were down 0.2%, while those for S&P 500 futures fell 0.1%, but contracts for the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.1%.
On Thursday, the DJIA closed 168.59 points, or 0.5% higher at 33,833, its third straight day of gains, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.6% to just shy of a key 4,300 level threshold, and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.0%.
The S&P 500 is on pace to record its fourth straight positive week for the first time since last August, with the broader index higher by nearly 0.3% as of Thursday’s close. The DJIA is headed for a second consecutive week of gains for the first time since April, up 0.2%. On the other hand, the Nasdaq Composite is on pace to break a six-week winning streak, down slightly by 0.02%.
Investors were encouraged on Thursday by signs that a broader swath of stocks, including small-cap equities, were participating in the recent rally, although some market participants warned that those gains may not last given next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at Scope Markets commented: "The S&P posted a record closing high for the year last night so a degree of profit taking off the back of this wouldn’t be unexpected, although once again bets regarding next week’s Federal Reserve rate call are swinging back towards there being no change.
"There’s also an overhang of fear that the US economy may yet slip into recession and again that could lead to a more erratic underlying market as we move on into the summer season. With economic data for the day looking thin on the ground, sentiment is going to dominate and with that theme of strong gains having been dominant over the last couple of weeks, some opportunistic profit-taking would be of little surprise."
On the corporate front, DocuSign shares jumped 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the electronic agreements firm beat analysts’ first-quarter expectations on the top and bottom lines.