Calm after the storm. US stocks surge as reports of tax hike dissolve

Wall Street stocks rose Friday to finish a volatile week on a positive note following strong new home sales data.

New home sales surged 20.7% in March, pushing the annualized sales rate to a 15-year high and more than recovering from cooling caused by winter storms in February.

The strong data helped the market shrug off weakness seen elsewhere much of the week, especially on Thursday when stocks fell sharply following reports the Biden administration is preparing a capital gains tax hike.

ALSO READ | The global economic response to climate change: What’s the plan?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.7% at 34,043.49.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 1.1% to 4,180.17, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.4% to 14,016.81.

Stocks still finished the week modestly in the red, but Friday’s gains cut into the losses.

Analysts have pointed to concerns over lofty equity valuations and rising coronavirus cases in India, Japan and other countries.

ALSO READ | Greta Thunberg urges current leaders to take climate crisis ‘seriously’

Among individual companies, Dow member Intel slumped 5.3% despite reporting better-than-expected results. Analysts pointed to disappointment over the chipmaker’s forecast.

American Express fell 1.9% despite better-than-expected earnings. Analysts said the drop in shares reflects disappointment at the weakness tied to business travel and some other areas of consumption that remain sluggish.