Wall Street's rally got back on track Friday, following more encouraging profit reports and the latest signal that inflation is loosening its chokehold on the economy. Big Tech stocks led the market, per the AP, and the S&P 500 closed out its third straight winning week and its ninth in the last 11.
- The S&P 500 climbed 44.82 points, or 1%, to 4,582.23.
- The Dow rose 176.57 points, or 0.5%, to 35,459.29.
- The Nasdaq was up 266.55 points, or 1.9%, to 14,316.66.
Stocks have been rising recently on hopes high inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates. That in turn could allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession. A report on Friday bolstered those hopes, saying the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected. Perhaps just as important, data also showed that total compensation for workers rose less than expected during the spring. While that's discouraging for workers looking for bigger raises, investors see it adding less upward pressure on inflation.
The hope among traders is that the slowdown in inflation means the Federal Reserve's hike to interest rates on Wednesday will be the final one of this cycle. That hope helped technology stocks and others seen as big beneficiaries from easier rates to rally and lead the market Friday. Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon each rose at least 1.4% and were the three strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500. Companies also continued to deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. Roughly halfway through the earnings season, more companies than usual are topping profit forecasts, according to FactSet. Intel rose 6.6% after reporting a profit for the latest quarter, when analysts were expecting a loss.
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