- U.S. stocks rose slightly on Friday as all three major indexes hit record highs.
- Strong earnings, easing inflation, and resilient consumers were the trio that drove stocks higher.
- Investors will be watching Nvidia’s earnings report next week to determine whether the rally continues.
U.S. stocks rose slightly on Friday as traders tried to push major indexes to record highs.
Three factors pushed stocks to new records this week: strong earnings, easing inflation and consumer resilience. The release of April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Wednesday eased concerns about a rebound in inflation and opened the door for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates several times this year.
Fed Vice Chairman Philip Jefferson and Fed President Loretta Mester are scheduled to speak this morning, and their comments could provide clues as to when the Fed may consider cutting rates.
Fed speakers on Wednesday raised some questions about the timing of the rate cut, saying many Fed governors are satisfied with the current state of monetary policy and intend to ease it quickly while inflation remains above the central bank’s target. He said no.
Fast forward to next week, and investors will be paying close attention to Nvidia’s earnings report. That could determine the continued rise in AI stocks. The company is scheduled to release its financial results after the market closes on Wednesday.
Reddit stock soared 14% as the company announced a deal with OpenAI to train artificial intelligence models on its platform.
Here are the U.S. indices immediately after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:
Here’s what else is happening today:
In Commodities, Fixed Income and Cryptocurrencies:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.23% to $78.92 a barrel. The international benchmark Brent crude oil rose 0.11% to $83.36 per barrel.
- Gold rose 0.85% to $2,405.80 an ounce.
- The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury rose 2 basis points to 4.40%.
- Bitcoin rose 1.57% to $66,277.
