U.S. stocks rallied during midday trading on Friday, after slipping earlier at the open, as investors weigh in on fresh economic data including consumer spending data, a closely watched measure by the Federal Reserve.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.3%. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) was up by roughly 1.4% during midday trading. Earlier in the session all three indexes had traded higher by about 0.4%.Elsewhere in markets, Tesla (TSLA) stock has become hot. The shares rose above 10% in Friday trading, a session high. The company’s latest earnings has prompted a boost for the shares.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note ticked up to 3.52% from 3.497% on Thursday. The dollar index added 0.28% to $102.12. WTI crude oil was higher by about 1.5% to trade at $82.24 a barrel.
U.S. core personal-consumption expenditures price index (PCE), excluding energy and food, rose 0.3% month-over-month, while the annual rate fell to a one-year low of 4.4% in December from 4.7% the prior month, in line with consensus forecasts.Pending Home Sales increased 2.5% in December, ending a sixth month slide, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Meanwhile, consumers remain optimistic. The consumer sentiment index rose to 64.9, a slight increase from 64.6 reading two weeks ago, according to preliminary results from the University of Michigan’s consumer survey. Economists surveyed were expecting a reading of 64.6.Stocks rallied on Thursday as investors digested other data that showed the U.S. economy ended the year on a solid foot despite higher interest rates and recessionary fears looming.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — the sum of all goods and services – expanded at a 2.9% annual pace in the final quarter of 2022. For the full year, GDP grew 2.1%.
