Wall Street ends positive week on a high
All three major US indexes ended the week with gains, after a slew of Big Tech earnings, economic data and central bank announcements boosted investor confidence in a soft landing for the US economy. US annual inflation slowed considerably in June, likely pushing the Federal Reserve closer to ending its fastest interest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s, data showed on Friday. In the 12 months through June, the PCE price index advanced 3.0 percent. That was the smallest annual gain since March 2021 and followed a 3.8 percent rise in May. "You put all that together and you end up with this idea that this Goldilocks economy might continue for a little while, with inflation clearly coming down," said Scott Ladner, Chief Investment Officer at Horizon Investments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5 percent, to 35,459, the S&P 500 gained 0.99 percent, to 4,582 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.9 percent, to 14,317. "People are more sanguine about the possibility of inflation being under control and the economy avoiding a recession," said Win Murray, director of research at asset manager Diamond Hill. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed was not forecasting a recession and did not rule out another rate hike, saying it would follow future economic data. Barclays said investors flocked to equities this week, with inflows of US$10 billion to US-listed stocks, according to a note to clients. On the earnings front, Intel's results and forecast pointed to an improving PC market, sending the chipmaker's shares up 6.60 percent. Peers Nvidia and Marvell Technology also gained 1.85 percent and 1.60 percent respectively. Procter & Gamble climbed 2.83 percent after the consumer behemoth beat analysts' estimates for quarterly sales. Ford Motor shed 3.42 percent after Chief Executive Jim Farley outlined a change in the automaker's product strategy, slowing the ramp-up of money-losing electric vehicles. (Reuters)