Traders
on
the
floor
of
the
New
York
Stock
Exchange
on
Aug.
4,
2022.
Source:
NYSE
Stocks
jumped
Friday,
and
the
S&P
500
and
Nasdaq
Composite
notched
their
best
week
since
November
as
Big
Tech
names
rallied
on
strong
earnings
and
traders
pored
through
fresh
U.S.
inflation
data.
The
broad
market
index
advanced
1.02%
to
settle
at
5,099.96.
The
tech-heavy
Nasdaq
climbed
2.03%
to
close
at
15,927.90
and
secure
its
best
daily
move
since
February.
The
Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average
rose
153.86
points,
or
0.4%,
to
finish
at
38,239.66.
The
S&P
and
Nasdaq
clinched
their
best
week
since
November.
The
S&P
popped
2.7%
to
snap
a
three-week
losing
streak,
while
the
Nasdaq
gained
4.2%
for
its
first
positive
week
in
five.
The
Dow
edged
up
0.7%.
“We
are
finishing
a
volatile
week
on
a
strong
note,”
said
Mona
Mahajan,
senior
investment
strategist
at
Edward
Jones.
“It’s
nice
to
see
some
green
on
the
screen.
Clearly
one
of
the
drivers
has
been
the
stellar
reports
coming
out
of
megacap
technology.”
Stocks
got
a
boost
from
robust
results
from
artificial
intelligence
competitors
Alphabet
and
Microsoft
after
the
bell
Thursday.
Alphabet
jumped
more
than
10%
on
better-than-expected
first-quarter
earnings
and
recorded
its
best
day
since
July
2015.
The
company
also
authorized
its
first-ever
dividend
and
a $70
billion
buyback.
Microsoft
added
nearly
2%
as
the
software
maker
posted
strong
fiscal
third-quarter
results
and
showed
an
acceleration
in
cloud
growth.
Both
companies
have
impressed
investors
by
not
only
investing
in
artificial
intelligence,
but
also
by
showing
results,
Mahajan
said.
The
prints
also
helped
alleviate
some
fears
on
the
back
of
Meta
Platforms’
disappointing
guidance
earlier
this
week,
she
said.
Investors
also
parsed
March’s
core
personal
consumption
expenditures
reading
following
a
spate
of
reports
that
suggested
slowing
growth
and
sticky
inflation.
The
gauge,
excluding
food
and
energy,
rose
2.8%
from
a
year
ago
and
came
in
ahead
of
the
2.7%
expected
by
Dow
Jones.
Personal
spending
rose
0.8%,
ahead
of
a
0.7%
estimate.
Those
moves
helped
Wall
Street
regain
some
of
its
footing
after
a
down
day.
The
blue-chip
Dow
slid
375
points
Thursday
after
new
U.S.
economic
data
showed
a
sharp
slowdown
in
growth
and
pointed
to
persistent
inflation.
The
busy
earnings
season
continues
next
week,
headlined
by
results
from
technology
giants
Apple
and
Amazon.
The
Federal
Reserve’s
next
rate
decision
is
due
out
Wednesday.
