U.S. stocks book gains Friday, ending a strong week and blockbuster month of July

U.S. stocks finished higher Friday, sweeping to big weekly and monthly gains, with the Nasdaq Composite scoring its best July on record. Stocks continued to rally after the Federal Reserve raised rates another 75 basis points on Wednesday in a bid to tame high inflation. Investors seemed to like what they heard from big-tech earnings this week and from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who said he didn’t think the U.S. was in a recession yet, despite slowing economic data. The Dow Jones Industrial Index rose about 316 points Friday, or 1%, to close near 32,846. The blue-chip index punched about 3% higher for the week and climbed 6.7% in July, helping it edge closer to the key 32,877.66 closing level needed to officially exit correction territory, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The S&P 500 index rose 1.4% Friday, 4.3% for the week and 9.1% for July, according to Factset. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.9% Friday, 4.7% for the week and 12.4% for the month. The strong monthly advance was the best month for the Dow and S&P 500 since since Nov. 2020 and the best month for the Nasdaq since April 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

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