Wall Street rallied to cap a winning week, month and first half of the year after reports suggested pressure on inflation may be easing.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.2 percent Friday to reach its highest level since April 2022. It surged 15.9 percent in the first half of the year.
The Dow rose 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq composite added 1.4 percent.
The market has rallied through 2023 in part because the economy has been able to avoid a long-predicted recession. Wall Street hopes inflation is easing enough for the Federal Reserve to soon halt its hikes to rates.
On Friday:
The S&P 500 rose 53.94 points, or 1.2 percent, to 4,450.38.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 285.18 points, or 0.8 percent, to 34,407.60.
The Nasdaq composite rose 196.59 points, or 1.4 percent, to 13,787.92.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 7.14 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,888.73.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is up 102.05 points, or 2.3 percent.
The Dow is up 680.17 points, or 2 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 295.41 points, or 2.2 percent.
The Russell 2000 is up 67.10 points, or 3.7 percent.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 610.88 points, or 15.9 percent.
The Dow is up 1,260.35 points, or 3.8 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 3,321.44 points, or 31.7 percent.
The Russell 2000 is up 127.49 points, or 7.2 percent.
