Major United States benchmark averages finished higher on Thursday (Friday AEDT) as easing trade concerns and fresh inflation data lifted investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 342.9 points, or 0.8%, the S&P 500 rose 1% to 6,115.1, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.5% to 19,945.6.
The Dow surged to session highs after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to review reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations. However, he stopped short of announcing immediate levies despite earlier hints of major trade policy changes.
Tech stocks powered the market higher. Nvidia rose 3.2% after Hewlett Packard Enterprise shipped its first solution featuring Nvidia’s Blackwell chip.
AppLovin, last year’s top-performing U.S. tech stock, soared 24% following strong earnings. Tesla gained 5.8%, though it remains near a three-month low.
Investor sentiment was also buoyed by the latest producer price index (PPI) data, which showed a 0.4% increase for January - slightly above the 0.3% forecast. Core PPI, which strips out food and energy, met expectations with a 0.3% rise.
On the bond markets, the 10-year and 2-year Treasury yields declined 2% and 1.1% to 4.535% and 4.309%, respectively.
