Stocks Ended the Third Quarter on a High Note

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday, but ended the third quarter on a high note, shaking off tariff tensions to focus on domestic economic health. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 18.38 points, or 0.07%, to 26,458.31. The S&P 500 was off 0.02 point to 2,913.98. The Nasdaq Composite added 4.38 points, or 0.05%, to 8,046.35. On the month, the Dow gained 1.9%, the S&P 500 gained 0.4%, while the Nasdaq edged down 0.8%. Over the past three months, the Dow was up 9%, the S&P gained 7% and the Nasdaq rose 7%.

Oil futures rallied Friday on signs of tightening supplies, tallying a second monthly gain in a row, with global crude prices settling at another four-year high. November West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $1.13, or 1.6%, to settle at $73.25 a barrel. November Brent picked up $1, or 1.2%, to expire at $82.72 a barrel. For the week, Brent crude was up 5%. It saw a monthly gain of around 6.8% and a quarterly advance of 4.1%. U.S. WTI oil saw a weekly climb of 3.5% and a monthly rise of roughly 4.9%. For the quarter, however, it ended down 1.2%.