Markets end Friday higher, week lower S&P 500 ends higher as strong inflation data cements rate-hike bets (copy)

Wall Street ended higher Friday as oil prices retreated and strong consumer price data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week to fight inflation.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.86% to end the session at 7,656.98 points. The Nasdaq jumped 0.96% to 26,333.04 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98% to 52,573.29 points.

Artificial intelligence server maker Dell soared 12% to a record high. Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 12% and HP gained 8.4% after Oracle's quarterly results topped estimates. Oracle dipped 1.8%.

U.S. consumer prices accelerated last month as the cost of gasoline rebounded after two straight monthly declines, adding pressure on the Fed to tighten monetary policy to fight inflation.

Interest rate futures now reflect a nearly 90% probability that the central bank will raise rates at its policy meeting on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That is up from a 72% likelihood Thursday.

"That's pretty much as close to a slam dunk as you're going to get," said Thomas Martin, senior ?portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta. "The Fed will do the right thing and raise rates, and that is good at the margin for keeping inflation in check."

Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by communication services, up 1.35%, followed by a 1.13% gain in consumer discretionary.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 14.0 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 14.9 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street's fear gauge, fell 2 points to 15.88.

Friday's rally follows recent nervousness on Wall Street related to inflation and rising long-term Treasury yields, as well as concerns about massive spending to build AI data centers. The S&P 500 is down about 2% from its record-high close on Aug. 13, though it remains up 12% for the year.

For the week, the S&P 500 dipped 0.8% and the Nasdaq lost 0.7%.

The S&P 500's recent decline, coupled with a strong earnings outlook, has the benchmark trading at 19 times expected earnings. That is its cheapest since April 2025, when President Donald Trump's announcement of broad tariffs threw global markets into a tailspin.

Oil prices fell but remained up about 9% for the week as attacks along Middle East shipping routes stoked concerns about prolonged supply disruptions. Brent crude futures slipped almost 3% but were still above $104 a barrel.

Shares of ACV Auctions soared 44% after online vehicle auctioneer Copart agreed to buy it in an almost $1.9 billion deal.

Distributed by Newsbank, inc.