- US stocks edged higher on Friday as all three major indices flirt with record highs.
- Solid earnings, easing inflation, and a resilient consumer have served as a trifecta for higher stock prices.
- Investors will turn their attention to Nvidia's earnings report next week to determine if the rally can last.
US stocks edged slightly higher on Friday as traders looked to push major indexes to fresh records.
A trifecta of solid earnings results, easing inflation, and a resilient consumer have helped push stock prices to new records this week. The release of April's CPI report on Wednesday helped ease concerns about a rebound in inflation, opening the door for a couple interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve later this year.
Fed Vice Chair Phillip Jefferson and Fed President Loretta Mester will speak this morning, and their comments could offer clues as to when the Fed might consider cutting interest rates.
On Wednesday a lineup of Fed speakers cast some doubt on the timing of cuts, with a number of Fed presidents saying they were comfortable with where monetary policy is, and are in no hurry to ease while inflation is still above the central bank's target.
Fast forward to next week, and investors will be laser-focused on Nvidia's earnings report, which could make or break the continued rally in AI stocks. The company is set to report results after the market close on Wednesday.
Reddit stock spiked 14% as the company announced a deal with OpenAI to train artificial intelligence models on its platform.
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Friday:
- S&P 500: 5,298.33, up 0.02%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 39,871.97, up 0.01% (+2.59 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 16,702.03, up 0.02%
Here's what else is going on today:
- JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned that inflation is worse than people think and that the stock market is too optimistic about a soft landing.
- BlackRock's global chief investment officer Rick Reider said that in order to tame inflation further, the Fed needs to cut interest rates.
- Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller slashed his Nvidia stake by 72% last quarter and made a massive bet on small cap stocks.
- The world's top golfer Scottie Scheffler was detained by police Friday morning outside of the Louisville golf course that is hosting the PGA Championship.
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 0.23% to $78.92 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 0.11% to $83.36 a barrel.
- Gold edged higher by 0.85% to $2,405.80 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 4.40%.
- Bitcoin jumped 1.57% to $66,277.