• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.37 percent to end at 24,831.17 points, while the S&P 500 gained 0.17 percent to 2,727.72, its highest close since mid-March. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.03 percent to 7,402.88.
For the week, the Dow rose 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 added 2.4 percent, and the Nasdaq climbed 2.7 percent.
The S&P 500 rose on Friday, helped by healthcare stocks after President Donald Trump blasted high drug prices but avoided taking aggressive measures to cut them.
During Friday’s session, the Dow edged above 100-day moving average for the first time since April 18, following the S&P 500’s similar move a day earlier. Some traders believe such developments mean the market is likely to move higher.
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• Asian shares searched for direction in early Monday trade, with oil prices mostly steady, having pared some gains after touching multi-year highs last week.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was lower by 0.06 percent while the broader Topix was flat. The real estate subindex advanced 2.36 percent in early morning trade, while automakers, precision machinery and oil stocks traded lower.
Elsewhere, the Kospi edged up by 0.3 percent despite heavyweight Samsung Electronics slipping 0.58 percent. Other technology sector stocks fared better, with LG Electronics up 1.54 percent, and financials and steelmakers also notching gains.
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• Erratic delivery of public investment has left Thailand plodding behind faster-growing Southeast Asian economies, yet regulations introduced by the military-led government have made it even harder for state agencies to spend this year.
• The finance ministry has banked on stronger export growth to keep its 2018 economic growth forecast at 4.2 percent, though analysts reckoned the fall in public investment spending could be worse than the ministry anticipates.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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