US stocks rose on Friday as gains in the tech and communication industries outweighed the fears over inflationary pressures. For example, a 0.7% increase was seen in the S&P 500, thanks to the strong corporate earnings in Johnson & Johnson.
"It's almost like we're in this period of invincible optimism," said SoFi strategist Lisa Young. "It is just an optimistic time. When you have a week that was kind of flat to sideways, a Friday bounce isn't all that unlikely."
As mentioned earlier, stocks remain near record highs because of the strong corporate earnings reports. But bond traders fear that rising inflation could lead to a tightening of monetary policy, not to mention consumer sentiment in the US has fallen to a 10-year low.
Tom Hainlin, strategist at the US Bank National Association, said: "Both cyclical and secular growth sectors are doing well because that's where we're seeing growth in the economy. We're seeing cyclical companies be able to overcome that inflation. And then I'm seeing the secular growth companies still seeing strong demand."
Meanwhile, bond yields rose on Friday, with 30-year bonds up 5 basis points after a holiday in the US. The yield curve, on the other hand, fell to its lowest level since March 2020.
Kestra CIO Kara Murphy said: "In many ways, we're back in this environment where inflation fears are rearing their ugly head again. We're still sticking with our view that eventually these will abate, but I think the timing and how long it will take for these prices to pull back is longer than what we might have expected a few months ago."
