Wall Street closes at record highs as financials lead rebound By Reuters

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The three major U.S. stock indexes rallied to record closing highs on Friday as financials and other economically focused sectors rebounded after a selloff sparked by growth worries earlier in the week.

The week also saw a sharp rally in U.S. Treasuries as investors worried the U.S. economic recovery might be losing steam with the Delta variant of the coronavirus spreading.

S&P financials led sector gains followed by energy, materials and industrials.

“What an about-face from all of the gloom and doom from yesterday,” said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Unofficially, the rose 446.29 points, or 1.3%, to 34,868.22, the S&P 500 gained 48.44 points, or 1.12%, to 4,369.26 and the added 139.83 points, or 0.96%, to 14,699.61.

Big banks will be among the first to report quarterly earnings, with the season kicking off next week. A big jump in quarterly earnings is expected to mark a peak for U.S. profit growth in the recovery from last year’s pandemic-induced collapse.

Analysts expect earnings growth of 65.8% for companies in the in the quarter, up from a previous forecast of 54% growth at the start of the period, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

(Graphic: Q2 expected to see peak results for U.S. companies, https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/EARNINGS/jbyprzbqype/chart.png)

Among individual stocks, Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:) rose as it forecast a strong full-year profit after beating quarterly earnings estimates on improving demand across its markets for jeans, tops, and jackets.

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Global Inc gained after four sessions of losses, as it was recently hit by an investigation from China’s internet watchdog.