NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Nasdaq was on track for its biggest quarterly gain since June 2020, with US stocks rising on Friday as signs of slowing inflation fueled hopes that the Federal Reserve may soon end its aggressive rate hikes.
The S&P 500 (.SPX) was on track for a second straight quarter of gains, led by the technology sector (.SPLRCT) rising 20%.
The quarterly gains came despite a sell-off in bank stocks in the wake of the collapse of two regional banks earlier this month.
A Commerce Department report on Friday showed that US consumer spending rose moderately in February while inflation slowed.
“The stock market seems pleased with a slight decline in inflation, as it should be. It confirms that the Fed’s campaign is in fact working, albeit slowly,” said Quincy Crosby, chief global strategist at LBL Financial in Charlotte. , North Carolina.
The Fed raised interest rates to calm inflation, and traders’ bets on a 25 basis point rate hike in May were at 53.8% on Friday, according to CME Group’s Fedwatch tool.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 266.83 points, or 0.81%, to 33,125.86 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 38.09 points, or 0.94%, to 4,088.92 points, and the Nasdaq Composite Index increased 152.08 points, or. 1.27% at 12,165.56.
Philadelphia Semiconductor (.SOX) rose, extending its strong gains for the quarter.
Advances outnumbered losers on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of 3.97 to 1; On the Nasdaq, a ratio of 2.25 to 1 favored advanced stocks.
The S&P 500 hit a new 52-week high and there were no new lows. The Nasdaq recorded 69 new highs and 106 new lows.
Reporting by Caroline Valitkevich. Additional reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Anika Biswas. Additional reporting by Johan M Cherian; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi and Magu Samuel
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