US stocks edged mostly forward to end the trading session Friday, recording an 8th consecutive weekly win. The week’s gains were clinched following the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation reading, which showed pricing pressures continued to cool in November and are approaching the Fed’s 2% target.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped just under the flatline, falling less than 0.1% on Friday. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) advanced about 0.2%. For the week, the Nasdaq gained 1.2%, the S&P 500 rose 0.75%, and the Dow rose a more modest 0.2%.
A fresh read on the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index Friday morning showed that prices excluding the volatile categories of food and energy rose 3.2% from a year earlier in November, down from October’s revised annual gain of 3.4%. Analysts had expected a 3.3% annual increase.
As Yahoo Finance’s Jennifer Schonberger noted Friday, this data likely clears the path for the central bank to cut interest rates next year.
In individual stock moves, Nike (NKE) shares sank nearly 12% after the company warned it would cut jobs and expected sales to falter, thanks to weaker consumer spending. Shares of other sportswear makers fell in the wake of its revenue forecast cut.
Elsewhere, Tencent shares (TCEHY) plunged to lead an $80 billion sell-off in some of China’s biggest online names. Fears of another tech crackdown reignited after Beijing unexpectedly imposed new rules on gaming.
