U.S. stocks rally as investors assess economic data
Oct 29, 2022
New York (US), October 29: Wall Street's major indexes jumped on Friday as investors parsed fresh economic data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 828.52 points, or 2.59 percent, to 32,861.80. The S&P 500 rose 93.76 points, or 2.46 percent, to 3,901.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 309.78 points, or 2.87 percent, to 11,102.45.
Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with technology and communications up 4.52 percent and 2.98 percent, respectively, leading the advancers. Consumer discretionary dipped 0.3 percent, the lone declining group.
Apple shares rallied nearly 7.6 percent after the company on Thursday reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations on revenue and earnings per share.
Shares of Amazon slumped 6.8 percent after the e-commerce giant predicted slower holiday quarter sales and profit.
Tech-related stocks were hammered earlier this week following discouraging results from high-profile tech companies such as Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Microsoft.
Markets were partly lifted by speculations that the Federal Reserve is about to shift toward smaller interest-rate hikes, yet analysts cautioned that it is still too early to expect a Fed pivot.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that the U.S. personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.3 percent in September, for a 6.2 percent year-on-year increase. The core PCE inflation, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.5 percent for a 5.1 percent year-on-year increase.
"Inflation is too high, and sticky wage pressures make inflation increasingly stubborn," Chris Low and Will Compernolle, economists at FHN Financial, said Friday in a note.
"There was nothing in the September PCE inflation report to shift Fed expectations," they said, adding "a 75bp (basis point) hike is virtually guaranteed next week."
On other data front, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index came in at 59.9 in October, roughly in line with market estimates.
For the week, the Dow rose 5.72 percent, while the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 3.95 percent and 2.24 percent, respectively.
Source: Xinhua
