MTS Help Center

S&P 500 rises to record close Friday despite inflation fears, posts best week since February

The S&P 500 closed at a record on Friday, capping off Wall Street’s strong rally this week, despite inflation hitting a 39-year high.

The S&P 500 rose 0.95% to 4,712.02 to close at a record. The 500-stock average sits 0.7% from its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 216.30 points, or 0.6%, to 35,970.99. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.7% to 15,630.60.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4% since Monday, snapping a 4-week losing streak. The 30-stock index had its best weekly performance since March. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite added 3.8% and 3.6%, respectively, this week — the best since February for both indexes.

Some investors may have been anticipating an even hotter inflation reading than economists, leading to a relief rally following the number. DoubleLine’s Jeffrey Gundlach said in a call this week he fears inflation could soon top 7%.

Friday’s CPI “number might show the most inflation in decades, but it still came in right about as expected. This is actually a good thing, as the market has priced in higher inflation, so this could be viewed as a relief,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at LPL Financial.

Investors are also wary that a high inflation reading could lead the Federal Reserve to hasten the taper of its $120-billion monthly bond-buying program.

European stocks close slightly lower as markets track omicron, U.S. inflation surge

European markets closed slightly lower on Friday as renewed concerns about the omicron Covid-19 variant continue to weigh, while investors reacted to key U.S. inflation data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally ended 0.3% lower, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Retail stocks led the losses, falling 1.4%.

Reference: CNBC