US close: Stocks higher following July PCE numbers

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks closed higher on Friday as investors digested a key inflation reading. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.55% at 41,563.08, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.01% to 5,648.40 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.13% firmer at 17,713.62.

The Dow closed 228.03 points higher on Friday, extending gains recorded in the previous session and setting the blue-chip index on a course for another record close.

Friday's primary focus was last month's personal consumption expenditures price index, with the Federal Reserve Bank's preferred inflation gauge rising in July, according to the Commerce Department, in line with preliminary estimates. The personal consumption expenditures index increased by 0.2% month-on-month or 2.5% on a year-on-year basis, exactly in line with consensus estimates. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core PCE also increased 0.2% for the month but was 2.6% higher on the year, slightly softer than the 2.7% estimate.

Elsewhere on the macro front, the Chicago purchasing managers index rose to 46.1 in August, according to the Institute for Supply Management, up from 45.3 in July and ahead of market expectations for a print of 45.5.

Finally, consumer confidence in the States was virtually unchanged in August, as Americans continued to try and anticipate the winner of the next presidential elections. The final reading for the University of Michigan's consumer confidence index printed at 67.9 for August, against a reading of 66.4 in July. Economists had pencilled in a print of 68.0.

In the corporate space, athleisure giant Lululemon missed quarterly revenue expectations for the first time since March 2022, while cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty posted its first earnings miss since May 2020.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.04 9.49% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $202.13 1.62% 3M Co. (MMM) $134.81 1.34% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.78 1.28% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $356.10 1.27% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $224.80 1.17% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $77.23 1.06% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $165.75 0.99% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $417.14 0.97% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $171.54 0.89%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $252.90 -1.60% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.58 -0.52% American Express Co. (AXP) $258.58 -0.46% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $229.00 -0.34% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $589.77 -0.23% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.25 0.00% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $510.25 0.03% Nike Inc. (NKE) $83.32 0.07% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $288.66 0.28%

S&P 500 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.04 9.49% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $65.59 4.06% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $162.82 3.75% Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $178.50 3.71% Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $19.34 3.69% Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $177.29 3.60% HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $49.31 3.50% Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $146.93 3.47% QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $175.30 3.43% United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $44.04 3.28%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $352.84 -4.01% Apache Corp. (APA) $28.48 -2.93% Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $267.55 -2.25% Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $100.18 -2.14% Kohls Corp. (KSS) $19.39 -1.92% Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $45.31 -1.82% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $131.39 -1.79% Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $32.53 -1.69% Gap Inc. (GAP) $22.44 -1.62% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $252.90 -1.60%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.04 9.49% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $65.59 4.06% Tesla Inc (TSLA) $214.11 3.80% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $162.82 3.75% Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $178.50 3.71% QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $175.30 3.43% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $819.43 2.98% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $821.01 2.97% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $27.00 2.39% Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,061.66 2.28%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $352.84 -4.01% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $131.39 -1.79% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $139.09 -1.29% Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $481.33 -1.22% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $347.54 -1.14% Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $72.43 -1.00% O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,129.97 -0.75% Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $150.67 -0.74% T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $198.69 -0.69% Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $79.00 -0.57%