NEW YORK, May 31 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday, after the latest U.S. personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, fell in line with expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 574.84 points, or 1.51 percent, to 38,686.32. The S&P 500 added 42.03 points, or 0.80 percent, to 5,277.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 2.06 points, or 0.01 percent, to 16,735.01.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy and real estate leading the gainers by going up 2.49 percent and 1.86 percent, respectively.

The S&P 500 has advanced 3.9 percent so far in May, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is up 5.9 percent month-to-date. Both indexes are on track to achieve their largest monthly gains since February, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

"The market is going to remain choppy," said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, citing variables such as the upcoming election, Treasury yields and consumer spending.

Inflation rose as expected in April, keeping markets anxious about the timing of potential interest rate reductions, according to a closely watched measure released by the Commerce Department on Friday. The core PCE price index, excluding food and energy costs, increased by 0.2 percent for the period, aligning with Dow Jones estimates. Annually, core PCE rose 2.8 percent, slightly above the forecast by 0.1 percentage points. Meanwhile, the headline PCE inflation grew 2.7 percent annually and 0.3 percent from the previous month, respectively, matching forecasts.

"This week's most important economic data came and went without deviating much from expectations," said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Independent Advisor Alliance, adding that the market breathed a "sigh of relief" after the report.

Most recently, New York Fed President John Williams said Thursday that while he is confident inflation will continue to recede, prices are still too high and he has not seen sufficient progress towards the Fed's 2 percent annual goal. Markets have adjusted their expectations for rate reductions this year. Pricing on Friday morning indicated that the first rate cut is likely to come at the Fed's meeting in November, which concludes two days after the presidential election.

Traders also reacted to the latest corporate earnings results. Dell Technologies tumbled more than 17 percent despite strong earnings, as the company reported a smaller-than-anticipated AI server backlog. Cloud security stock Zscaler popped nearly 8.5 percent, while developer data platform MongoDB plunged 23.85 percent after management trimmed guidance. Apparel retailer Gap jumped 28.60 percent, after the retailer reported first-quarter earnings and sales well above investors' expectations, raised its guidance for the year and pared down its inventory. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)