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Stocks moved higher Friday as investors analyzed earnings reports from Apple and other well-known companies, alongside the release of a closely followed inflation report.
The Dow Jones Industrials took hold of 31.96 points to 44,914.09.
The S&P 500 index gained 38.46 points to 6,109.63.
The NASDAQ Composite bounced 245.34 points, or 1.3%, to 19,927.08.
Investors honed in on Apple, which saw shares rise 3% after the company exceeded fiscal first-quarter expectations. While Apple reported disappointing sales tied to the iPhone, services revenue appeared to take the spotlight.
The December data for the personal consumption expenditures price index — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — showed an increase of 0.3% from November and a 2.6% annual rate. While this yearly advance was in line with economists’ expectations, it marked an acceleration from the prior month’s rate of 2.4% — raising some concerns that inflation remains sticky. Excluding food and energy, core PCE also increased 0.2% monthly and 2.8% on an annual basis.
Friday’s action follows a winning — but volatile — trading session for the three major indexes. Technology has been a major focus of investors this week given Monday’s big selloff sparked by developments out of China’s DeepSeek artificial intelligence startup and earnings reports from key players over recent days.
Despite those advances, only the Dow is on track to finish the week higher. While the blue-chip index has risen about 1%, the S&P 500 looks to lose 0.1%, while the NASDAQ Composite is poised to finish down by 0.5%.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury nicked up, lowering yields to 4.51% from Thursday’s 4.52%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sank 51 cents to $72.22 U.S. a barrel.
Prices for gold performed better $15.70 an ounce to $2,860.90 U.S.
