US Stocks Extend Rally as Traders Eye Peak Rates: Markets Wrap

  • Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 notches best quarter since June 2020
  • Analysts remain cautious about breadth of rally; Bonds rise
Key Gauge of US Inflation Cools, Spending Moderates
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Technology shares extended the week’s US stocks rally after a key measure of inflation cooled last month, suggesting the Federal Reserve may be close to ending its rate-hiking campaign. Treasuries rose.

Excluding food and energy, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — the personal consumption expenditures price index — rose 0.3% in February, slightly below the median estimate. Meanwhile, the PCE price index was up 5% from a year earlier, a deceleration from January but far higher than the Fed’s 2% goal.