US open: Stocks higher following March PCE reading

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Friday as market participants digested key inflation data. As of 1510 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.52% at 38,284.59, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.00% to 5,098.79 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.75% firmer at 15,885.15.

The Dow opened 198.79 points higher on Friday, taking a bite out of losses recorded in the previous session following a gross domestic product report that pointed to a sharp slowdown in growth and persistent inflation.

Friday's main focus was last month's personal consumption expenditures price index, which rose to 2.7% in March, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, up from 2.5% in February and higher than the 2.6% expected by economists, suggesting that inflationary headwinds were still building. However, core PCE, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflationary barometer, which strips out volatile food and energy, was unchanged at 2.8% per year.

On a monthly basis, both the PCE price index and the core PCE price index increased by 0.3% during March, which may lead central bankers to hold off from lowering interest rates until later in 2024 ahead of its policy meeting next Wednesday, where it was widely expected to leave borrowing costs unchanged.

Elsewhere on the macro front, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index decreased to 77.20 points in April, down from a preliminary of 77.9 and March's 79.40 point print, which was the highest reading since July 2021. Both current conditions and expectations declined more than initially expected, while inflation expectations for the year ahead were revised higher to 3.2% from 3.1%.

In the corporate space, Google parent company Alphabet traded higher on the back of better-than-expected Q1 earnings, its first-ever dividend, and a $70.0bn buyback, while Microsoft shares climbed after the software giant reported Q3 numbers that came in ahead of Wall Street expectations.

Chevron beat on earnings estimates but saw profits fall on lower refining margins and natural gas prices, while Exxon Mobil was in the red after its quarterly numbers fell short of estimates for much the same reason.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $407.77 2.19% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $57.64 2.13% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $343.86 1.73% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $17.84 1.36% Nike Inc. (NKE) $94.96 1.09% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $424.43 1.04% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $334.83 0.86% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $274.99 0.68% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.49 0.68% 3M Co. (MMM) $91.81 0.44%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.07 -11.51% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $166.87 -1.21% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $212.24 -0.82% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $164.02 -0.76% Boeing Co. (BA) $165.96 -0.51% American Express Co. (AXP) $235.92 -0.50% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $112.38 -0.35% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $274.72 -0.32% Visa Inc. (V) $274.47 -0.25% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $492.80 -0.22%

S&P 500 - Risers

Resmed Inc. (RMD) $209.92 14.45% Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $172.72 10.72% Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $174.62 10.55% Ball Corp (BALL) $69.71 6.52% Mohawk Inds Inc. (MHK) $115.59 4.82% Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG) $34.71 4.45% T. Rowe Price Group Inc. (TROW) $113.44 4.24% Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $37.76 3.03% L3Harris Technologies Inc. (LHX) $213.40 2.92% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.25 2.89%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.07 -11.51% Aon plc (AON) $277.11 -9.44% Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $112.93 -4.65% Centene Corp. (CNC) $72.39 -4.35% Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $151.45 -3.68% VeriSign Inc. (VRSN) $177.15 -3.03% AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $162.35 -2.95% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $117.78 -2.93% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $251.62 -2.89% American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.76 -2.65%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $172.72 10.72% Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $174.62 10.55% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $30.06 5.14% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $103.08 3.18% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $692.11 2.85% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $96.70 2.74% Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.00 2.44% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $845.62 2.34% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $407.77 2.19% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $1,321.95 2.13%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $31.07 -11.51% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $251.62 -2.89% American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.76 -2.65% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $555.21 -1.70% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $68.33 -1.59% Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $877.93 -1.43% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $86.22 -1.19% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $64.36 -0.94% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $168.83 -0.79% Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $221.14 -0.74%