Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq: Little impetus on Wall Street – S&P 500 remains close to record high

The positive mood on Wall Street continued on Friday. However, before the weekend, the major US indices showed little movement: the Dow Jones index, the leading index, was trading almost unchanged at 53,808 points. The current record high from last week is 54,739 points. The broad S&P 500 index was also almost unchanged at 7,802 points.

The intraday high from the previous day was 7,816 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq was hardly moving and was at 26,839 points. The Nasdaq 100, which includes the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the US technology exchange Nasdaq, was unchanged at 30,104 points.

The gains for the week are due to three factors: firstly, hopes for a less tight interest rate path by the US Federal Reserve have grown due to price and labor market data, which helps stock prices. Furthermore, after some price drops, investors are again showing increased interest in tech and AI stocks. In addition, numerous companies in the second quarter performed better than expected and exceeded analysts' expectations.

Some market observers expect that the rally is not yet over. Michael Hartnett of Bank of America told Bloomberg that the door for more risk in investments was "wide open".

The situation in the Persian Gulf remains a latent risk. Oil prices were hardly moving on Friday, but a new threat from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent raised eyebrows. Bessent announced in a television interview that the US would impose new measures in the coming week that would economically isolate Iran to a historic extent.

Looking at individual stocks: Reddit: The online platform benefits from being included in the S&P 500. The shares rose by up to 14 percent. The index provider S&P Dow Jones Indices had announced late on Thursday evening that Reddit would be included in the index from August 18. The company replaces the real estate company AvalonBay Communities. Index funds that track the S&P 500 will now have to buy Reddit shares.

Drone stocks: The announcement of new US tariffs on imported drones drives the shares of domestic manufacturers up. The shares of companies such as Red Cat, Kratos, Aerovironment, and Unusual Machines rose by around 3 to 7.5 percent. US President Donald Trump signed an order imposing tariffs on the import of drones and their components.