Stocks ticked higher in the final hour of trading after a fairly muted Friday as investors digested retailers' earnings and a slew of messages from Federal Reserve officials. All of the major averages ended the day on a positive note, with the Nasdaq Composite eking out just a 0.01% gain. The three of them also posted losses for the week (albeit slightly for the Dow, which lost 0.01% for the week) but remain on track for winning months. Investors reflected on the strength of the recent bear market rally, which was first sparked last week with the October consumer price index reading, and reassessed their optimism around the possibility of slowing inflation. |
Following the recent better-than-expected prints for CPI and wholesale prices, traders were hung up on messaging from Federal Reserve officials, who were less impressed with the figures. On Friday, Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the recent data doesn’t affect her view on rate hikes. Investors were also watching earnings reports, cheering the latest results from Ross Stores and Gap, which finished the day up 9.8% and 7.5%, respectively. Ross was the top gainer in the S&P 500. Elsewhere, energy was one of two losing sectors in the broad-market index, finishing the day down 0.9% as oil prices slipped. |
