After the tax shock, the optimists have taken the helm again in Wall Street

Robust economic data has pushed the S&P 500 to a peak. After the tax increases planned by US President Joe Biden had caused losses on Thursday, the optimists have now taken the helm again. At the end of the week, investors increasingly counted on the positive impulses that the investments in the US infrastructure associated with the economic stimulus programs should bring. In general, the continued loose monetary policy is supporting share prices. The market-wide S&P 500 closed 1.09 percent higher at 4180.1 points. Its record is now a good 4194 points. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial rose by 0.67 percent to 34,043.49 points. On a weekly basis, however, this results in a minus of 0.46 percent. The technology-heavy and particularly economically sensitive Nasdaq 100 rose 1.30 percent to 13,941.44 points. The index values ​​for April determined by the research company IHS Markit rose for the services sector and for the industrial sector. The data suggests a robust recovery in the world's largest economy. In addition, new home sales rose sharply in the US in March, recovering from the effects of a severe onset of winter. On the stock side, eyes were on Intel. The chip company's paper slipped by more than five percent, making it by far the weakest value in the Dow. Decreased sales in the data center business and a sharp decline in gross profit margins as a signal of a loss of market share had spoiled investors. Meanwhile, investors courageously took hold of other chip manufacturers. The shares of Xilinx and AMD recorded gains of around five percent each. In general, the industry benefits from global semiconductor bottlenecks, which, among other things, make car manufacturers difficult. American Express had increased its profit significantly at the beginning of the year, but sales had fallen significantly. The credit card company also suffered from the fact that the corona pandemic paralyzed international travel, which is why lucrative hotel or flight bookings, which are often paid for with credit cards, were no longer available. American Express papers lost around two percent. But bank stocks were in demand. JPMorgan gained 1.9 percent and Goldman Sachs at the top of the Dow 2.6 percent. The rating agency Fitch is now more optimistic about the creditworthiness of the two financial institutions and has now described the outlook as "stable". Among the biggest losers in the S&P 500, Honeywell fell around two percent. The conglomerate had disappointed with its profit forecast for this year. For the Snapchat photo app, it pays to have a well-functioning app for Android smartphones. The number of daily active users increased significantly in the past quarter. For the first time, more than half of the users of phones with the Google system on Snapchat, as announced by the operating company Snap. Snap's share certificates closed almost seven and a half percent higher after strong fluctuations.