US equities end higher, record weekly gain of 6%

US markets closed Friday in the green as the Wall Street’s Fear Gauge declined, following a White House announcement that President Donald Trump was optimistic about reaching a deal with China. This ended a two-week losing streak for the markets.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 1.55%, or 619 points, to settle at 40,212 points. It recorded a weekly rise of 4.95%.

The S&P 500 index added nearly 1.8%, or 95 points, to 5,363 points, posting a weekly gain of 5.7%.

The Nasdaq Composite gained over 2%, or 337 points, to close at 16,724 points. The technology index rose 7.3% this week.

As for European markets, the STOXX Europe 600 edged down 0.1% to 486.8 points, with a weekly loss of 1.9%.

Meanwhile, the British FTSE index rose 0.65% to 7,964 points. The DAX index inched 0.9% lower to 20,374 points. France’s CAC 40 index also declined 0.3% to 7,104 points.

The Nikkei index shed 2.95% to 33,585 points. Similarly, the broader Topix index dropped 2.85% to 2,466 points. Both indices posted weekly losses of 0.6% each.

On oil, Brent crude futures for June delivery rose by 2.25%, or $1.43, to $64.76 per barrel. The Brent crude futures recorded a weekly loss of 1.25%.

Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for May delivery climbed by 2.4%, or $1.43, to $61.50 per barrel, trimming their weekly losses to 0.8%.

As for gold, June futures jumped by about 2.1%, or $67.10, to a record high of $3,244.60 per ounce, with the yellow metal posting weekly gains of 6.9%.