NEW YORK, April 28 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks extended gains on Friday as investors maintain strong risk appetite in general amid signs of stabilization in economic indicators.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 272.00 points, or 0.80 percent, to 34,098.16. The S&P 500 added 34.13 points, or 0.83 percent, to 4,169.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 84.35 points, or 0.69 percent, to 12,226.58.
Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy and financials leading the gainers by rising 1.47 percent and 1.19 percent, respectively. Utilities and consumer discretionary bucked the trend by going down 0.19 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively.
The U.S. personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index for March grew 0.1 percent month on month, in line with forecast consensus but lower than the 0.3 percent rise in February, according to data issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Friday.
Meanwhile, the core PCE price index expanded 0.3 percent in March, which is in line with both forecast consensus and the growth rate in the previous month.
The final reading of the U.S. consumer sentiment index in April remained unchanged from a preliminary one of 63.5, according to data issued by the University of Michigan on Friday.
U.S. stocks are holding onto gains after a mixed round of economic data locked expectations for the Fed to deliver one more rate hike and as banking concerns might allow them to signal they will hold going forward, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of online multi-asset trading services.
The Federal Open Market Committee has around 80 percent probability of raising federal fund rates by another 25 basis points in the upcoming monetary policy meeting in early May, according to data from the CME FedWatch Tool on Friday afternoon.
Overall, 53 percent of member companies in the S&P 500 Index have reported actual results for the first quarter of 2023, and 79 percent of these companies reported actual earnings per share (EPS) above estimates, according to a report issued by market information supplier FactSet on Friday.
The shares of First Republic Bank tanked 43.3 percent on Friday as the regional bank faces increasing possibility to be taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.