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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rallied Friday to send Wall Street to its best day in six weeks.
The S&P 500 rose 1.6% to cap its first winning week in the last four as relaxing yields in the bond market took some pressure off Wall Street. It’s found some stability following a swift rise and fall to start the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 387 points, or 1.2%, while the Nasdaq composite jumped 2%.
The central guidepost moving markets recently has been where inflation is heading and what the Federal Reserve will do about it.
“I’d love to talk about other things, but the only things that matter are the Fed and trajectory of inflation,” said Amanda Agati, chief investment officer of PNC Asset Management.
Early in the year, Wall Street rallied on hopes that cooling inflation would get the Fed to take it easier on its hikes to interest rates. Such increases can drive down inflation by slowing the economy, but they also raise the risk of a recession later on and hurt prices for investments.
Last month, momentum swung and stocks fell after reports on the economy came in hotter than expected. They included data on the jobs market, consumer spending and inflation itself at multiple levels.
