Wall Street advances and ends the week in positive territory

Wall Street closed higher on Friday, at the end of a difficult week in which economic data and the forecast for corporate earnings gains hinted at weaker demand but economic resilience ahead of the ECB’s policy meeting. Federal Reserve in the next week.

The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the day on positive ground, while the Dow Jones it closed almost unchanged. The S&P and Dow posted their third weekly gains in four, while the Nasdaq posted its fourth straight weekly gain.

“It’s a good end to another strong week of what is shaping up to be a historically strong month,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. “It’s a confirmation that inflation continues to drop rapidly and that is easing a lot of concerns about the economy.”

The Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) index for the Department of Commerce, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, showed a 0.1% rise last month, following a similar rise in November. US consumer spending also fell, putting the economy on a lower growth path heading into 2023.

With both inflation and the economy slowing, traders have remained firm on their bets that the Fed will raise interest rates just one more time on top of the widely expected quarter-point hike next week. , before stopping.

“That data is certainly going to be enough to justify the Fed cutting the rate hike to 25 basis points when it makes its decision on February 1,” said Art Hogan of B Riley Wealth.

The Industrial Average Dow Jones gained 25.18 points, or 0.07%, to 33,974.59 units; the index S&P 500 improved 9.86 points, or 0.24%, to 4,070.29 units, and the Nasdaq Composite it advanced 109.30 points, or 0.95%, to 11,621.71 units.

American Express Co closed higher after raising its 2023 profit forecast above Wall Street expectations, while credit card rival Visa Inc also gained on upbeat quarterly results.

Intel slumped after reporting its worst revenue drop in at least two decades and warning of further losses amid weak demand for personal computers.