Stocks traded mixed on Friday but closed the week on a high as investors embraced an inflation report seen as crucial to the Federal Reserve’s next decision on interest rate cuts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3% and finished with a fresh record. The S&P 500 lost 0.1%, but is coming off a record-high close from the prior session. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite sank about 0.4%.
Despite the mixed trading on Friday, the stock gauges all recorded wins for the week after confidence in the economy returned to the market. The Dow and the S&P added about 0.7%, while the Nasdaq rose 1%.
A solid GDP reading, combined with continued cooling in inflation, has cemented growing conviction that the Fed can nail a “soft landing” as it embarks on a rate-cutting campaign.
