U.S. markets ended mostly higher on Friday amid a drop in crude oil prices sparked by optimism over potential de-escalation in the Middle East, though Treasury yields jumped on ongoing worries about the interest rate outlook. On the economic front, the Fed released a report showing industrial production unexpectedly came in flat in August, with a jump in utilities output offset by a decrease in manufacturing output. The Fed said industrial production was unchanged in August after rising by an unrevised 0.2 percent in July. The Street had expected industrial production to climb by 0.3 percent.
On the sectoral front, semiconductor stocks rallied, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 2.8 percent. Brokerage stocks also turned in a strong performance, resulting in a 1.1 percent gain for the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index. On the other hand, interest rate-sensitive utilities, telecom, and housing stocks showed a significant move to the downside.
Nasdaq increased by 104.247 points or 0.4 percent to 26,522.545 and S&P 500 gained by 12.74 points or 0.17 percent to 7,650.5, while Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 95.4 points or 0.18 percent to 51,682.64.
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