US stocks rise to fresh records on tech-fueled rally while investors sift through Fedspeak

• US stocks rose on Friday, powered by a rally in tech stocks that took the Nasdaq to an intraday record.
• Investors also parsed new Fedspeak from several central bank speakers throughout the day
• “I don’t want to have to raise rates again,” Atlant Fed President Raphael Bostic said.

US stocks rose on Friday, powered by a rally in tech stocks that took the Nasdaq up to a record high and helped the S&P 500 close above 5,100 for the first time ever. 

The tech-focused Nasdaq Composite rose 1.14% on Friday, continuing its ascent after closing last month at its first record high since 2021. The rally has been powered by the ongoing AI euphoria that has pushed stocks like Nvidia up 70% so far this year. On Friday, shares of Dell Technologiesrocketed 31% higher to an all-time high as investors cheered its latest earnings, which included a positive AI-related business update. 

Investors also sifted through a slew of comments from Fed officials on Friday to gauge where interest rates could be headed this year. 

Atlanta Fed president Raphael Bostic said he would like to wait for inflation to sink low enough that the Fed can avoid reversing course and switching back to rate hikes after rate cuts.

“I don’t want to have to raise rates again,” he said. “It will probably be longer before inflation gets back to our 2% target. I am willing to wait.”

Also on the inflation front, Fed Governor Adriana Kugler said that she was “cautiously optimistic” about continued disinflation taking place alongside a resilient labor market.

Meanwhile, yields on the two-year note slipped 10.8 basis points to 4.53% after Fed governor Christopher Waller said he would like the Fed to boost its share of short-term bonds.

Here’s where US indexes stood at the closing bell at 4:00 p.m. on Friday: 

• S&P 500: 5,137.09, up 0.8% 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 39,087.38, up 0.23% (+90.99 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 16,274.94, up 1.14% 

Here’s what else is going on: 

• The “debt debasement” trade is ramping up as the US adds $1 trillion to the national debt every 100 days, Bank of America says. 
• China is the only major economy dealing with deflation.
• These are 10 reasons the Fed won’t cut rates in 2024, according to a chief economist.
• Eli Lilly stock will surge 29% over the next year with its weight-loss drug on pace to do $60 billion in sales by 2030, BofA says.
• The US housing market is slowly thawing, but 91% of homes are still overvalued, Fitch says.
• “Pig-butchering” scams have netted criminals $75 billion in stolen crypto, study says.
• These are three reasons the stock market is in a “Goldilocks” scenario.
• Why the productivity gains from AI won’t be able to prevent a recession.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto: 

• Oil prices rose, with West Texas Intermediate up 2% to $79.80 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was up 1.8% to $83.40 a barrel.
• Gold edged up 1.85% to $2,092.80 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield dropped six basis points to 4.184%.
• Bitcoin climbed 0.77% to $62,597.75.