S&P 500, Nasdaq close week at new all-time highs

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 posted new record highs on Friday as US stocks finished the week with gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 67 points, or 0.17%, to end the session at 39,375. The blue-chip index rose 0.5% this week.

The S&P 500 rose 30 points, or 0.54%, to a fresh record high of 5,567. The index posted a weekly gain of 1.8%.

The Nasdaq, meanwhile, gained 164 points, or 0.9%, to hit a new all-time high of 18,352. The tech-heavy index jumped 3.4% for the week.

The new record levels came as recent jobs figures raised investors' hopes that the Federal Reserve could begin lowering interest rates in September.

The US economy added 206,000 jobs in June, more than market estimates of 191,000, according to Labor Department figures released earlier. Job additions for May, on the other hand, were revised downward 54,000, from 272,000 to 218,000.

The recent data indicates that job additions in the world's biggest economy are slowing, which show that the job market is cooling down and an interest rate cut by the Fed in September is still possible.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose 1.1% to 12.40. The 10-year US Treasury yield shed 1.6% to 4.277%.

The dollar index fell 0.25% to 104.82, while the euro gained 0.28% to $1.0840 against the greenback.

Precious metals moved up, with gold rising 1.3% to $2,388 per ounce and silver adding 2.7% to $31.20.

Oil prices were down around 0.9%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $86.66 and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $83.13.