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The stock market continued to rebound on Friday—with the S&P 500 notching its biggest weekly gain in more than a year—as investors react positively to the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate hike this week and continue to hope for some kind of resolution to the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Phew! Clarity from the Federal Reserve helped boost stocks to a winning week.
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The Dow rose 0.8%, nearly 300 points, while the S&P 500 gained 1.2% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite 2.1%.
Stocks have rebounded sharply after a massive three-day surge: The S&P 500 notched its best week since November 2020 after rallying 5%, while the Dow also rose roughly 5% this week and the Nasdaq 7%.
Tech stocks led the market higher on Friday, while some consumer-related names also rallied: Shares of Apple rose 2.1%, Microsoft 1.8%, Nvidia 6.8% and Nike 3%.
Markets have taken a breather in recent days as investors continue to assess the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine as well as the Federal Reserve’s efforts to deal with high inflation; the central bank on Wednesday hiked interest rates for the first time since 2018.
After announcing a 0.25% rate hike and predicting six more increases this year, Fed chair Jerome Powell warned that higher energy prices as a result of the Russia-Ukraine conflict will likely “create additional upward pressure on inflation and weigh on economic activity.”
Investors remain hopeful for some kind of resolution to the conflict even as heavy fighting continues in several major Ukrainian cities, while US President Joe Biden meanwhile told Chinese President Xi Jinping on a call Friday that the conflict is not in “anyone’s interest.”