**Market Rebound Continues for Fifth Straight Day**Stocks mostly advanced during Friday’s trading session, building on the upward trend observed over the past several days. Both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 closed higher for the fifth consecutive day, effectively offsetting the significant losses recorded last week.All major indices ended the day in positive territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 297.01 points, or 0.7%, to finish at 41,393.78. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 114.30 points, or 0.7%, to 17,683.98, and the S&P 500 increased by 30.26 points, or 0.5%, to close at 5,626.02.For the week as a whole, the tech-centric Nasdaq surged by 6.0%, the S&P 500 climbed by 4.0%, and the Dow rose by 2.6%.**Optimism on Interest Rates Fuels Market Gains**Optimism surrounding the future of interest rates played a significant role in the sustained strength on Wall Street, especially ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming monetary policy meeting. The Fed is set to announce its latest policy decision next Wednesday, with a widely held expectation of an interest rate cut by at least 25 basis points.Inflation data has somewhat tempered the expectation for more aggressive rate cuts, yet the Fed is still anticipated to continue easing rates in the coming months.Contributing to the positive sentiment, the University of Michigan released a report indicating a better-than-expected improvement in U.S. consumer sentiment for September. The consumer sentiment index rose to 69.0 from August’s 67.9, surpassing economists’ predictions of a rise to 68.0.The report also highlighted a continued reduction in year-ahead inflation expectations, which have declined for the fourth consecutive month. Year-ahead inflation expectations decreased to 2.7% in September from 2.8% in August, marking the lowest level since December 2020.The Labor Department also published a report before market opening, revealing that U.S. import prices fell slightly more than anticipated in August.**Sector Performance**Interest rate-sensitive housing stocks saw sharp gains, propelling the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 2.8% to a record closing high.Gold stocks experienced a significant uptick, along with a notable rise in gold prices, pushing the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.2%.Steel stocks displayed substantial strength, evidenced by a 2.1% jump in the NYSE Arca Steel Index.Additionally, computer hardware, brokerage, and semiconductor stocks also recorded significant gains, in line with increases across most major sectors.**Global Market Overview**In international markets, the Asia-Pacific region delivered mixed results on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index declined by 0.8%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.8%.Meanwhile, major European markets all posted gains. Germany’s DAX Index rose by 1.0%, and both France’s CAC 40 Index and the UK’s FTSE 100 Index increased by 0.4%.**Bond Market Movements**In the bond market, U.S. treasuries returned to the upside after a two-session pullback. Consequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves inversely to its price, fell by 3.0 basis points to 3.650%.**Looking Ahead**Next week, the spotlight will be on the Fed’s monetary policy announcement. Additionally, reports on retail sales and industrial production are expected to attract significant attention.The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com
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