Wall Street ended the week on a positive note, with both the S&P500 and Nasdaq trading at fresh record all time highs - Dow up +133-points or +0.52% The broader S&P500 rose +0.62% (to 2,874.69)to to settle above its previous high established back on 26 January , with Materials (up +1.22%) and Information Technology (+1.10%) leading ten of the eleven primary sectors higher (with Consumer Staples down -0.17% the only sector to finish in the red). NASDAQ +0.86%. Netflix Inc rallied +5.8%, buoyed by a broker upgrade and gaining over >10% last week. For the week, the Dow rose +0.5%, S&P500 +0.9% and Nasdaq +1.7%. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell addressed the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming last Friday (24 Augsut) and observed that the central bank's gradual path of interest rate hikes remains “’appropriate’ as there does not seem to be “an elevated risk of overheating.” Powell also reiterated his confidence in the US economy, observing that “With solid household and business confidence, healthy levels of job creation, rising incomes, and fiscal stimulus arriving, there is good reason to expect this strong performance will continue.” The US dollar index extended losses following Mr Powell's speech, falling ~0.5% to 95.161 to be ~1% lower for the week (its worst weekly performance since February)
