Stocks ended mostly higher on Wall Street on Friday, closing out the market's latest winning month.
- The Dow rose 574.84 points, or 1.5%, to 38,686.32.
- The S&P rose 42.03 points, or 0.8%, to 5,277.51, ending its sixth winning month in the past seven.
- The Nasdaq fell 2.06 points, or less than 0.1%, to 16,735.02.
Among the biggest gainers was Gap, which soared 28.6% after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, the AP reports. The parent company of Old Navy and Banana Republic reported growth across its brands, reversing earlier declines at most of them. The retailer also raised its forecasts for sales and profitability this year despite saying the outlook for the economy remains uncertain. Stocks broadly got a boost from easing Treasury yields in the bond market after the latest reading on inflation came in roughly as expected. That left open the question of when Wall Street will get the lower interest rates that it craves.
The report showed a key measure of inflation remained at 2.7% last month, exactly as forecast. Some underlying trends also improved by a touch more than expected. That could bolster confidence at the Federal Reserve that inflation is sustainably heading toward its target of 2%, something it says is needed before it will cut its main interest rate. The Fed has been keeping the federal funds rate at the highest level in more than 20 years in hopes of slowing the economy enough to stifle high inflation. But if it holds rates too high for too long, it could choke off the economy's growth and cause a recession that throws workers out of their jobs and craters profits for companies. (More stock market stories.)