The three prominent U.S. stock indices reached new all-time highs, fueled by an unexpectedly mild inflation report that bolstered investor expectations of potential Federal Reserve interest rate cuts later this year. This optimism spurred a move toward riskier assets. The S&P 500 increased by 0.8%, the Nasdaq advanced by 1%, and the Dow Jones strengthened by 470 points. The technology sector was at the forefront of this rally, with companies like AMD and IBM surging by 7.5% and 8.77%, respectively. IBM's announcement of having successfully executed a significant quantum error-correction algorithm using AMD chips positively influenced the sector. Intel saw a rise of 1.6% after it returned to profitability and presented an optimistic revenue outlook. Additionally, Nvidia improved by 2.8%, Broadcom by 3.1%, and Alphabet by 3.1%.
The financial sector also experienced gains due to the prospect of more accommodative monetary policies potentially boosting lending activities. JPMorgan rose by 3%, Bank of America by 1.9%, Goldman Sachs by 4.4%, and Citigroup by 2.7%. Notably, Ford's shares soared by 13.3% following the automaker’s announcement of strong third-quarter results, which surpassed market expectations. Over the week, the S&P 500 climbed approximately 1.8%, while both the Nasdaq and the Dow each increased by 2%.
