US stock markets finally ended a seven-week losing streak, with all three US benchmarks delivering a positive finish on Friday, led by the Nasdaq, which gained 3.3%.
The S&P 500 added 2.5% and the Dow Jones 1.8% as 29 of the 30 constituents delivered strong gains.
Over the week, the Dow gained 6.2%, the S&P 500 jumped 6.6% and the Nasdaq stormed 6.8% higher.
Inflation slows
Friday’s rally came on the back of a long-awaited, but expected (in my view), slowdown in inflation. US core inflation increased just 0.2% in April, the slowest since November 2020 after fuel prices fell during the month. The 12-month rate also slowed from 6.6% to 6.3%.
Whilst the inflation rate is a positive, consumer sentiment remains at a 10-year low as the combination of mortgage rates, fuel and an economic slowdown pressures consumers.
Costco & Dell impress
Costco (NASDAQ: COST) was a rare retail winner, gaining 1%, after announcing revenue that beat its own estimates by US$1 billion, even though same-store sales slowed.
Dell (NYSE: DELL) gained 13% with revenue jumping in the first quarter amid a return to office and cost increases not being as strong as expected.
China improves
But all eyes were on China, with Baidu (HKG: 9888) and Alibaba (HKG: 9988) both gaining more than 12% after they beat expectations on higher advertising revenue and a jump in sales.
US stock market movers
Here’s how other popular US stocks performed on Friday to close out the week.
- Farfetch (NASDAQ: FTCH) up 26.7%
- Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) up 12.6%
- Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) up 10.3%
- Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) up 7.3%
- Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) up 4.1%
- Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY) down 5.6%
This strong positive lead is set to push the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) higher when the market opens this morning. For a round-up of the latest news, check out my ASX 200 morning report.
