WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved sharply higher early in the session on
Friday and have seen further upside over the course of the trading day. The
major averages have climbed even more firmly into positive territory, with the
tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the charge.

Currently, the major averages are just off their highs of the session. The
Nasdaq is up 359.67 points or 2.3 percent at 15,971.43, the S&P 500 is up 63.44
points or 1.3 percent at 5,111.86 and the Dow is up 212.94 points or 0.6 percent
at 38,298.74.

The rally on Wall Street comes amid a positive reaction to some of the latest
earnings news from big-name tech companies.

Shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) have surged by 10.2 percent after the Google parent
reported better than expected first quarter results and authorized its
first-ever dividend as well as a $70 billion stock buyback.

Software giant Microsoft (MSFT) has also jumped by 2.6 percent after reporting
fiscal third quarter results that exceeded expectations.

On the other hand, shares of Intel (INTC) have plunged by 9.5 percent after the
semiconductor giant reported first quarter earnings that beat estimates but
provided disappointing guidance.

Traders have also seemingly reacted positively to closely watched readings on
inflation released by the Commerce Department showing consumer prices in the
U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of March.

The Commerce Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.3 percent in
March, matching the increase seen in February as well as economist estimates.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices also climbed by 0.3
percent for the second straight month, in line with expectations.

Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated
to 2.7 percent in March from 2.5 percent in February. Economists had expected
the pace of growth to tick up to 2.6 percent.

The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices in March came in unchanged
from February at 2.8 percent, while economists had expected the pace of growth
to slow to 2.6 percent.

The readings on inflation, which are said to be preferred by the Federal
Reserve, were included in the Commerce Department's report on personal income
and spending in the month of March.

'Given the elevated levels of inflation - and this is the new normal for 2024 -
the market is going to need to get over hopes for Fed rate cuts,' said Chris
Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Independent Advisor Alliance.

'We're still optimistic on the market, however, as we believe that rate cuts
aren't necessary for the bull market to continue,' he added. 'Instead, continued
economic expansion and growth in corporate profits - which are already seeing
from the largest companies in the market - are what will propel stock prices to
new highs.'

Treasury yields moved lower following the release of the report, which may have
helped mitigate any negative response to the data.

Sector News

Semiconductor stocks continue to see substantial strength despite the slump by
Intel, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged by 2.9 percent.

Significant strength also remains visible among software stocks following
Microsoft's upbeat results, resulting in a 2.1 percent jump by the Dow Jones
U.S. Software Index.

Networking stocks are also seeing considerable strength on the day, driving the
NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.9 percent.

Retail, housing and computer hardware stocks have also shown notable moves to
the upside, while airline stocks are bucking the uptrend.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly
higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.8
percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 2.1 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the German
DAX Index jumped by 1.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100
Index advanced by 0.9 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

In the bond market, treasuries have pulled back off their early highs but remain
in positive territory. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note,
which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3.7 basis points at 4.669 percent.



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