- PCE growth slows in February
- The S&P 500 will gain for the second quarter in a row
- Indices up: Dow 0.8%, S&P 0.9%, Nasdaq 1.3%
NEW YORK, March 31 (Portal) – The Nasdaq was set to post its biggest quarterly gain since June 2020, with US stocks rallying on Friday as signs of cooling inflation bolstered hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon start its aggressive rate hikes could end.
The S&P 500 (.SPX) was on track for a second straight quarter of gains, led by the 20% rise in the technology sector (.SPLRCT).
The quarterly gains came despite a sharp sell-off in bank stocks following the collapse of two regional banks earlier this month.
Friday’s Commerce Department report showed that US consumer spending rose moderately in February as inflation slowed.
“The stock market seems pleased with the modest decline in inflation, as it should be. This underscores that the Fed’s campaign is indeed working, albeit slowly,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Fed has hiked 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.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) was up 266.83 points, or 0.81%, to 33,125.86, the S&P 500 (.SPX) was up 38.09 points, or 0.94%, to 4,088.92 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) is up 152.08 points to 1.27% at 12,165.56.
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The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (.SOX) edged higher, extending strong quarterly gains.
Upgrading issues predominated on the NYSE at a 3.97 to 1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, a 2.25 to 1 ratio favored movers.
The S&P 500 posted 15 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite posted 69 new highs and 106 new lows.
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; additional reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Ankika Biswas; additional reporting by Johann M Cherian Edited by Vinay Dwivedi and Maju Samuel
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