Wall Street Close: Strong US data propels all three key indices to fresh record high

• DJI, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 refresh all-time high on Thursday.
• Strong US Retail Sales, manufacturing survey data and Jobless Claims back the bulls.
• US-Russia tussles could do little harm, greenback bounce and downbeat US Treasury yields also failed to tame the equity bulls.

Wall Street benchmarks had a good Thursday trading session as blowout US economics favored all three key indices to refresh record high while also dragging the US Treasury yields. In doing so, the equity traders paid a little heed to the US-Russia and the Sino-American tussles.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI30) rallied over 300 points, or 0.90%, by the end of Thursday’s trading to print a fresh all-time high of 34,068.73 while the S&P 500 followed the suit with 1.11% daily gains, or 45.76 points, to refresh record top of 4,173.49 before closing around 4,170. Further, the Nasdaq Composite also joined the party as it rose 1.31% or 180.92 points while crossing 14,000 on a daily closing basis, needless to mention refreshing the record top with 14,049.13.

US 10-year Treasury yields dropped to the lowest since March 18 before closing the day with a loss of near six basis points (bps) to 1.57%.

US Retail Sales for March outshined the upbeat forecasts, manufacturing data from Philadelphia Fed and Empire State also rallied whereas weekly Jobless Claims slumped during the latest announcement on Friday. Firmer statistics from the world’s largest economy proved the Fed’s optimism right, which in turn highlights the taper talks and propels the market optimism without the rate-hike chatters.

The fall in Treasury yields weighed on the tech-shares whereas rumors over no iPhone Mini next year gained major attention. However, upbeat earnings from Citigroup and Bank of America backed the market bulls.

Looking forward, the preliminary readings of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April, expected 89.6, will be the key to watch but talks over the vaccinations and geopolitics will be even more important to follow for fresh impulse.