It was a strong day for all three major U.S. stock indexes after a big selloff the day before. Google parent Alphabet crossed the $2-trillion threshold for market capitalization on Friday.
On the macroeconomic level, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index accelerated in March to 2.7%, up from 2.5% in February. The PCE price index is a closely watched inflation gauge favored by the Federal Reserve that excludes food and energy.
There seems to be less hope for significant interest rate cuts as inflation continues to exceed expectations, and the Fed remains stuck above its 2% inflation target. The central bank has hiked interest rates 11 times since 2022.
But strong tech earnings helped power stocks higher in spite of that to end the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 185 points, or 0.5%, to 38,271 shortly before markets closed for the week. The Nasdaq is up sharply with a 2.2% gain, and the S&P 500 added 1.1%.
AI powers Google to a $2 trillion market cap
Google parent Alphabet crossed the $2-trillion threshold for market capitalization on Friday, thanks to a stock surge powered partly by its work with generative artificial intelligence.
The tech giant’s stock was one the market’s star performers on Friday, as Alphabet Class A shares and Alphabet Class C shares each hit new 52-week highs. Both stocks were up about 10% shortly before markets closed, making Google the top performer in the Nasdaq on Friday and one of the top stocks in the S&P 500. That pushed Google’s market cap to about $2.14 trillion on Friday afternoon.
Microsoft stock rises on AI growth
Shares of Microsoft rose on Friday after the company reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates. The tech giant reported earnings per share of $2.94, compared to an expected $2.82 per share. The company expects fourth-quarter revenue to range between $63.5 billion and $64.5 billion.
The company highlighted the growth of its cloud computing business and its efforts to bring AI technology to clients. Microsoft said AI services contributed 7 percentage points to Azure and other cloud services’ revenue growth, up from 6 percentage points in the second quarter.
Microsoft stock was up about 2% near the end of the day.
Intel stock falls on revenue outlook
Intel reported first-quarter earnings results on Thursday after the closing bell, exceeding analysts’ expectations. But the company’s second-quarter outlook fell below Wall Street’s estimates, causing the stock to decline.
Intel projected its second-quarter revenue would be between $12.5 billion and $13.5 billion, falling short of analysts’ expectations of $13.63 billion.
Intel stock was down 9.3% near the end of the day.
AI stocks get back in action
AI stocks were also rising Friday. Nvidia and Super Micro Computer were up more than 5.7% and 8.5%, respectively.
That followed the news that OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang have been selected to serve on a new federal AI safety board, which will advise the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on protecting the economy, healthcare, and other industries from threats posed by AI.
Trump Media stock pops
Shares of Trump Media, the company behind former president Donald Trump’s Truth Social, rose 9% late Friday afternoon. The company went public on the Nasdaq under the ticker DJT on March 26, after completing its merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Since then, the company has been on a rollercoaster ride.
–Britney Nguyen, Rocio Fabbro, and Laura Bratton contributed to this article