Wall Street shares rose in afternoon trading on Friday, keeping the market on track for its first weekly gain after seven weeks of losses.
s & P The 500 rose 1.8% as of 12:01 p.m. Eastern and headed for a 5.9% gain for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 356 points, or 1.1%, to 32,992 and the Nasdaq rose 2.6%.
Gains were broad, led by technology stocks. Apple rose 3.4% and Microsoft 2.2%. Retailers also posted solid gains as Wall Street continues to review the latest round of earnings calls to better understand how much of the pain is inflicting on businesses and consumers. Beauty products company Ulta Beauty soared 9.6% after raising its profit forecast for the year. Amazon rose 2.8%.
European markets rose and Asian markets closed overnight.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which helps determine mortgage rates, fell to 2.74% from 2.75% late Thursday.
Disappointing financial updates and earnings weighed on many companies. Gap fell 2.4% after lowering its profit forecast for the year.
Investors also received potentially encouraging news about inflation. The Commerce Department said inflation in April rose 6.3% from a year ago, the first slowdown since November 2020 and a sign that higher prices may eventually ease, at least for now.
The broader market has been bearish for almost two months due to concerns about inflation and rising interest rates. Investors were stunned last week by disappointing reports from major retailers including Walmart and Target, which raised fears about rising inflation eroding profit margins and easing consumer spending.
Trading remained volatile throughout the week, though the market was mostly bullish, as retailers including Macy’s and Dollar General issued encouraging earnings reports and financial updates.
Inflation is at a four-decade high and continues to squeeze businesses. Higher costs prompted companies to raise prices on everything from food to clothing to protect their margins, and consumers remain resilient. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine worsened the inflation picture by raising global energy and food prices even more.
US crude oil prices were relatively stable, but are up more than 50% in 2022. Wheat prices are up about 50% and corn prices up 30% this year.
Supply chain problems at the center of rising inflation worsened in the wake of China’s lockdown for several major cities.
The additional inflation squeeze has made it even more difficult for businesses to offset costs and appears to be shifting consumer spending away from expensive items and toward necessities. It has also raised concerns that the Federal Reserve may have an even harder time trying to cushion the effects of inflation.
The Fed has been raising interest rates aggressively to fight inflation, but investors are concerned that it could push the economy into recession if it proceeds too aggressively.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.