Wall Street shakes off inflation jump
Stocks on Wall Street made small gains Friday despite signs that inflation is heating up. The Dow and the S&P 500 posted their first weekly gain in the past three weeks.
Inflation-obsessed Wall Street shrugged off the highly anticipated report on consumer prices. The personal consumption expenditures index rose sharply in April.
First American Trust Chief Investment Officer Jerry Braakman said he’s not worried about inflation because companies are able to raise prices.
“There is more demand, especially as companies kind of ratcheted down their production to get through this tough time. They're having a tough time getting people employed and ramped up again, and that disparity creates pricing power, and that's a good thing for companies.”
The Dow rose two-tenths of a percent. The broader indexes closed nearly flat. For the month, the Dow and S&P gained ground but the Nasdaq shed 1.5%.
Boeing was the Dow’s biggest decliner. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the plane maker again halted deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners.
Shares of Dell and HP fell. The computer makers warned that the ongoing chip shortage could hurt their ability to meet demand for laptops this year.
The U.S. stock market will be closed for trading Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.
