Markets rise, “reasonable prospect” of more gains in second half of year

Markets rose on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1 percent, the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.8 percent and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.2 percent.

“As we look into the second half of 2018, I believe that the economy will continue to grow, with healthy employment conditions, rising interest rates, and the reasonable prospect of rising markets,” said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Commonwealth Financial Network, in a note.

“The consequences of U.S. monetary policy normalization, moderately higher inflation and U.S.-China trade tensions top our list of worries, but do not change our broadly optimistic view on world growth. We are mindful, however, that the combination of worsening trade outcomes, higher oil prices and a hawkish Fed may dent confidence further in 2018 and beyond,” Standard Chartered Global Chief Economist David Mann said in a note.