US equities end up, Dow Jones posts over 3% weekly gain

US stock indices rose in the final session of the week, driven by a decline in the 10-year Treasury yields. This came as hopes increased for multiple interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, amid anticipation for the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump on Jan. 20.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added nearly 0.8%, or 334 points, to 43,487 points. The index posted a weekly gain of 3.7%.

The S&P 500 jumped about 59 points, or 1%, to 5,996 points, rising 2.9% during the week.

The Nasdaq Composite Index added 291 points, or 1.5%, to end at 19,630 points, boosting gains by 2.45% this week.

As for the European indices, STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.7% to 523.6 points, with weekly gains of 2.35%.

FTSE 100 finished 1.35% up at a record of 8,505 points. Similarly, the Dax Index jumped 1.2% to 20,903 points, while the CAC 40 ended 1% higher at 7,709 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 edged down 0.3%, or 121 points, to 38,451 points. TOPIX ended 0.35% down at 2,679 points. Both indices posted weekly losses of 1.9% and 1.3%, respectively.

In the oil market, Brent crude futures for March delivery fell by 0.6% or $0.50 to $80.79 a barrel. However, the benchmark crude posted weekly gains of 1.3%.

Meanwhile, WTI crude futures for February delivery dropped by 1% or $0.80 to $77.88 a barrel, but US crude rose by about 1.7% since the start of the week.

As for gold, futures for the yellow metal for February delivery declined by about 0.1% or $2.2 to $2,748.7 per ounce. Nevertheless, prices have risen by 1.25% since the beginning of the week.