Kamal Ghorui
US equity benchmarks traded mixed on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq moving higher on strength in technology stocks after March inflation data came in line with expectations, while investors kept a close watch on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.US consumer prices rose the most in nearly four years in March, driven by higher oil prices linked to the Iran conflict and continued tariff pass-through. Despite this, traders maintained expectations that the US Federal Reserve will hold borrowing costs steady this year, scaling back earlier bets of two rate cuts prior to the conflict, according to Reuters.“When paired with Thursday’s PCE data, the message is clear: inflation remains sticky – and that optimistically assumes the energy surge proves to be a temporary headwind rather than a lasting recalibration,” said Bret Kenwell, US investment analyst at eToro. “It should keep policymakers on pause, unless we see a more notable deterioration in the labor market or the broader economy.”San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly told Reuters on Thursday the oil shock from the Iran war would extend the timeline on bringing inflation back to the US central bank’s 2% target.At 10:15 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 109.60 points, or 0.23%, at 48,076.20, while the S&P 500 gained 10.56 points, or 0.15%, to 6,835.22, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 123.70 points, or 0.54%, to 22,946.11.Gains were led by technology stocks, with the S&P 500 information technology index advancing 0.8%, supported by chipmakers. Nvidia rose 1.8% and Broadcom climbed 4.4%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor index touched a record high of 8,926.08.However, declines in financial stocks, down 0.8%, limited the broader upside. Goldman Sachs and Travelers weighed on the Dow.On a weekly basis, Wall Street’s main indexes were poised for gains, with the S&P 500 and Dow set for their strongest weekly rise since November and June, respectively.Investor sentiment was supported by the two-week ceasefire between Washington and Tehran, along with remarks from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicating efforts to initiate direct talks with Beirut. However, the Pakistan-brokered truce showed signs of strain, with both sides accusing each other of violations ahead of talks scheduled for Saturday.“This is a headline-driven market… as long as the ceasefire holds and the market sees a path toward relative calm in the Middle East, investors should be able to look through disruptions,” said Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist at LPL Financial.Separately, preliminary data showed the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 47.6 in April, below economists’ expectations of 52, according to a Reuters poll.US-listed shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, rose 2.7% after reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter revenue.CoreWeave advanced 6.8% after announcing a multi-year agreement with Anthropic and pricing its convertible bond offering at a premium.Advancing stocks outpaced decliners by a 1.22-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by 1.07-to-1 on the Nasdaq. The S&P 500 recorded 17 new 52-week highs and 18 new lows, while the Nasdaq logged 84 new highs and 70 new lows.
