The major U.S. stock markets put together a solid performance on the final day of the trading week, which saw the Dow reverse losses from the previous session and the NASDAQ and S&P 500 hit fresh record closing highs.

The markets opened slightly to the upside on Friday and continued to tick higher as the day progressed.

The Dow jumped 208.01 points or 0.47 percent to finish at 44,901.92, while the NASDAQ gained 50.36 points or 0.24 percent to close at 21,108.32 and the S&P 500 improved 25.29 points or 0.40 percent to end at 6,388.64.

The strength on Wall Street came on optimism that a number of trade deals will be worked out prior to President Donald Trump’s August 1 deadline for the extension of his “reciprocal tariffs.”

With only a few days left, several trading partners are trying to reach an agreement with the U.S. to avoid high tariff imposition on their exports to the U.S. from August 1.

European markets were less optimistic as stocks were weighed down by concerns about the progress of the trade negotiations, as well as some disappointing earnings updates.

European Union officials are hopeful for a possible trade deal with the United States, but Trump’s position is seen to have hardened ahead of the August 1 deadline.

The member states adopted on Thursday the list of countermeasures targeting €93 billions’ worth of U.S. products that will come into effect on August 7 in case the talks fail.

The pan European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.24 percent. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX closed lower by 0.26 percent and 0.41 percent, respectively. France’s CAC 40 ended 0.17 percent up, and Switzerland’s SMI settled 0.75 percent down.

Crude oil fell on Friday on reports that the U.S. might allow partners of Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA to resume operations, sparking concerns of over-supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery closed, down $0.88 or 1.33 percent to $65.15 per barrel.

Gold prices fell modestly on Friday as investors see a glimpse of positivity with news of more countries signing deals with the U.S. coming in and other major US trading partners.

Front Month Comex Gold for July delivery, lost by $37.00 or 1.10 percent to $3334.00 per troy ounce. Gold lost $19.00 or 0.57 percent for the week. Front Month Comex Silver for July delivery, lost by 85.40 cents or 2.19 percent to $38.167 per troy ounce. Silver lost 05.60 cents or 0.15 percent for the week.

SOURCE: RTTNEWS

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