In this file photo a person walks past the New York Stock Exchange at Wall Street on November 16, 2020 in New York City. — AFP picNEW YORK, Apr 24 — Wall Street stocks rose yesterday to finish a volatile week on a positive note following strong new home sales data.
New home sales surged 20.7 percent in March, pushing the annualized sales rate to a 15-year high and more than recovering from cooling caused by winter storms in February. The strong data helped the market shrug off weakness seen elsewhere much of the week, especially on Thursday when stocks fell sharply following reports the Biden administration is preparing a capital gains tax hike.The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.1 percent to 4,180.17, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.4 per cent to 14,016.81.Analysts have pointed to concerns over lofty equity valuations and rising coronavirus cases in India, Japan and other countries.
Among individual companies, Dow member Intel slumped 5.3 per cent despite reporting better-than-expected results. Analysts pointed to disappointment over the chipmaker’s forecast. American Express fell 1.9 per cent despite better-than-expected earnings. Analysts said the drop in shares reflects disappointment at the weakness tied to business travel and some other areas of consumption that remain sluggish. — AFP