Wall Street rose this Friday and the Nasdaq closed with its highest quarterly percentage rise since June 2020Since the signs of cooling inflation reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will soon end its aggressive interest rate hikes.
The S&P 500 posted a second straight quarter of gains, led by a more than 20% rise in the technology sector.
The quarterly gains came despite a sharp drop in bank stocks following the failure of two regional lenders earlier in the month and subsequent concerns about a broader financial crisis.
A report from the Commerce Department on Friday showed that US consumer spending rose moderately in February, while inflation cooled.
“Equity markets seem delighted by the slight decline in inflation, as it should. It underscores that the Fed’s campaign is indeed working, albeit slowly.” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial.
The Fed has been raising rates to cool inflation, and traders’ bets on a 25 basis point rate hike in May stood at 53.8% on Friday, according to CME Group’s Fedwatch tool.
On day, the S&P 500 gained 58.07 points, or 1.43%, to 4,108.76, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 208.44 points, or 1.74%, to 12,221.91. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 408.66 points, or 1.24%, to 33,267.69.
Semiconductors were one of the best performing groups of the quarter. Shares of big tech rallied as investors abandoned banks and US Treasury yields fell.
On Friday, yields on two-year bonds closed with their biggest monthly decline since 2008. Rising returns on fixed income are often a negative for big tech companies.
Source: Ambito
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