Major stock exchanges on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 turned to gains deep into the session on Friday, after recording losses at the opening bell.
The upward trend was seemingly supported by the data on the United States consumer confidence released earlier, that pointed to a modest recovery amid economic uncertainty induced by inflation and recession concerns. The optimism was further lifted by Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker's remarks, who suggested that the pace of interest rate hikes should be slowed and that a 50 basis point hike would not be required at the next policy meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 180 points or 0.54% at 1:24 pm ET. The S&P 500 gained 0.20%, while the Nasdaq 100 remained below the flatline, falling 0.52%. The euro declined 0.55% against the American currency, to sell at $1.06735 at 1:24 pm ET.
