The U.S. Dow stock index finished above 40,000 for the first time on Friday as hope continued that the U.S. economy will remain stable and the country's central bank could begin cutting the key interest rate in the fall.
The 30-issue Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 134.21 points, or 0.34 percent, to close at 40,003.59. A day earlier, it briefly topped the 40,000 threshold for the first time to mark an intraday high of 40,051.05, but closed below the line.
Buying gathered steam on Friday as recent government data, which signaled slowing inflation and normalization in the labor market, apparently made investors less cautious in their hope for the world's largest economy to achieve a "soft landing," curbing price hikes while averting recession risks.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index on Friday closed almost unchanged at 16,685.97, down 12.35 points, or 0.07 percent.
The Dow index surpassed the 30,000 line for the first time in November 2020 after the country's central bank eased its monetary policy to help prop up the economy amid downturn due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Although the index did not show remarkable increases after the Fed began raising the federal funds rate in 2022 to fight inflation, it has marked significant recent gains, reflecting solid earnings at major U.S. corporations, including those involved in information technology and artificial intelligence.
