US stocks close at record highs, post weekly gains

US stocks settled higher on Friday, supported by hopes that the Federal Reserve will continue cutting interest rates after data showed persistent weakness in the labor market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.48%, or 237 points, to close at a new record high of 49,504 points, and post weekly gains of 2.32%.

The broader S&P 500 index advanced 0.65%, or 44 points, to 6,966 points, marking a record close and extending its weekly gains to 1.57%.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.82%, or 191 points, to 23,671 points, achieving a weekly gain of 1.88%.

In Europe, the STOXX Europe 600 index rose 0.95% to a new record close of 609.67 points, recording weekly gains of 2.25%.

Germany’s DAX index increased 0.53% to 25,261 points, France’s CAC 40 gained 1.44% to 8,362 points, and the UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.80% to 10,124 points, with all three indices closing at record highs.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 advanced 1.6% to 51,939 points, while the broader Topix index jumped 0.85% to close at 3,514 points. Both indices posted weekly gains exceeding 3%.

As for commodities, Brent crude futures for March delivery rose 2.18%, or $1.35, to $63.34 per barrel, recording weekly gains of 4.26%.

US WTI crude futures for February delivery climbed 2.35%, or $1.36, to $59.12 per barrel, extending weekly gains to 3.14%.

Gold futures for February delivery increased 0.90%, or $40.2, to $4,500.90 per ounce, boosting weekly gains to 3.95%.

Earlier today, the US jobs report showed that the economy added 50,000 jobs in December, compared with expectations of 73,000, while the unemployment rate declined to 4.4% from 4.6% in November.