
U.S. stocks rose Friday following a choppy trading session as traders considered Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments on inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 346 points, or 1.09%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.33% and 1.79%, respectively.
Shares of DocuSign surged more than 17% in extended trading after the electronic agreements company reported an earnings beat. The company also issued a third-quarter revenue forecast that was above expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 193 points, or 0.61%, during the regular session on Thursday — closing higher after alternating between gains and losses throughout the day. The S&P 500 rose 0.66%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.60%.
Those gains put all three major averages on pace to snap a three-week losing streak. Through Thursday, the Dow is up 1.45%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 2.09%, and the Nasdaq Composite is 1.99% higher.
Stocks have been volatile recently as expectations of a 0.75 percentage point rate hike this month grew on Wall Street, after the Fed chair said again that he is “strongly committed” to bringing down inflation.
“The case for the ongoing bear market is that the Fed will continue to tighten monetary policy, withdraw liquidity from the market and cause a tailspin for equities,” said David Donabedian, chief investment officer of CIBC Private Wealth US. “But this week’s market recovery has shown there is continued resilience in the economy bolstered by favorable economic reports.”
Still, Donabedian added that he does not think stocks have reached the bottom of the bear market yet.
“Indeed, the journey to the next bull market will take time, and will be marked by a series of set-backs and recoveries,” he said