Dow closes above 40,000 as US stocks finish week higher

ISTANBUL

The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 40,000 for the first time Friday, while US stocks finished the week on a higher note.

The blue-chip index, which includes 30 prominent American companies, rose 247 points, or 0.62%, to end the session at 40,000.90.

While it climbed to an all-time high of 40,257.24 during the day, the index increased 1.6% this week, posting gains in the last three consecutive trading days.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, added almost 31 points, or 0.55%, to close at 5,615 and the Nasdaq gained 115 points, or 0.63%, to 18,398.

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, dove 3.56% to 12.46. The 10-year US Treasury yield shed 0.12% to 4.185%.

The dollar index fell 0.33% to 104.09, while the euro increased 0.37% to $1.0905 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in negative territory, with gold losing 0.14% to $2,412 per ounce and silver decreasing 2.1% to $30.80.

Oil prices were down around 0.4%, with global benchmark Brent crude at $85.05 and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at $82.26.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, fell below the $58,000 level again and it was trading around $57,643 with a daily loss of just 0.03% at 4.40 p.m. EDT. Ethereum was at $3,100 at the time with a decline of 0.45%.

The value of the cryptocurrency market stood at $2.12 trillion with a 0.06% daily loss, while Bitcoin's share, known as dominance, was at 53.3% and Ethereum's was at 17.6%, according to CoinMarketCap, a digital asset price-tracking website.