US stocks pushed higher Friday as Wall Street looked to bounce back from the Dow's biggest wipeout in over a year.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 1.1%. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose just above the flatline, eking out a victory after shedding 600 points on Thursday in its worst day in more than a year.
Renewed interest rate concerns fueled the prior session's rout, led by the Dow's sharp decline. Meanwhile, US Treasury yields eased up, with the benchmark 10-year yield (^TNX) hovering below 4.5%.
May's earlier roaring sentiment turned sour after stronger-than-expected US business data prompted a rethink on the Federal Reserve's path on interest rates.
Traders are more evenly split on whether the central bank will slash rates at its September meeting, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That marks a significant shift from last week when only around one-third expected the Fed to hold rates steady through the fall's first meeting. Goldman Sachs on Friday said it no longer expects the Fed to make its first cut in July, instead suggesting September was more likely.
But Wall Street could enter the holiday weekend in better spirits. Nvidia (NVDA), whose latest blowout quarter spurred an early rally on Thursday, was up by 2% Friday, trading around $1050 per share. Its coming stock split may fuel even more retail interest in owning a piece of the company.
Highlighting the macroeconomic front Friday is a revised look at the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for May, which fell to 69.1. The print beat expectations but still registered a month-over-month fall. That brings the sentiment reading to its lowest level in about five months, as inflation and interest rate concerns bit into Americans' views of the economy.
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