NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are closing out their best week in two months with a flourish.The S&P 500 was 1.1% higher in midday trading and on track for its first winning week in the last three. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 398 points, or 0.9%, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.6% higher.SLB helped lead the market after the provider of services to oilfields delivered bigger profit and revenue for the end of 2024 than analysts expected. It jumped 7.6% after it also raised its dividend by 3.6% and said it’s returning $2.3 billion to its investors by buying back its own stock.The most forceful pushes upward came from Big Tech stocks. All the companies in what’s come to be known as the “Magnificent Seven” rose. Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla all climbed more than 1%, while Meta Platforms lagged behind. Because they’re so massive in size, their movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes than any other stock.The Magnificent Seven has been under pressure recently because of criticism their stock prices may have shot too high after leading the market for so many years. Such worries gained momentum after Treasury yields jumped in the bond market in recent weeks. Higher yields hurt prices for all kinds of investments, and they weigh particularly on those seen as the most expensive.But stocks broadly got a lift this week from an encouraging report on inflation, which raised hopes that the Federal Reserve may deliver more cuts to interest rates this year. More such cuts, which began in September, would ease the brakes off the economy and boost prices for investments, though they could also give inflation more fuel.Wall Street has been lurching down and up in recent weeks as economic reports have forced traders to revamp their expectations about what the Fed will do with interest rates in 2025. Lower worries about inflation have sent Treasury yields lower and stocks up, while worsening worries about inflation have triggered the opposite reaction.Treasury yields eased sharply this past week, and the 10-year Treasury yield slipped further on Friday. It’s down to 4.60% from 4.62% late Thursday and from 4.76% a week ago.Still, even with this week’s better-than-expected readout on inflation, some on Wall Street remain skeptical about the chances for more cuts. With the U.S. economy still in solid overall shape, “you shouldn’t fix what’s not broken,” Bank of America economists Claudio Irigoyen and Antonio Gabriel said in a BofA Global Research report.They also pointed to the uncertainties created by “Trumponomics 2.0.” Policies pushed by President-elect Donald Trump could help push up inflation, or at least expectations for it, including widespread tariffs and tax cuts for an economy that’s already still growing, for example.Stocks and bonds have both swung up and down since Election Day amid such uncertainty.Banks are still seen as some of the biggest ben
Ven. Gen 17th, 2025
