New York, Jun 30 (AP) Wall Street is rising again after reports suggested pressure on inflation may be easing across the country.

The stock market is heading for the close of a winning week, month and first half of the year.

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The S&P 500 was 0.8 per cent higher in early trading Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 214 points, or 0.6 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite was up 1.1 per cent.

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The market has rallied through 2023 in part because the economy has been able to avoid a long-predicted recession. Wall Street hopes inflation is easing enough for the Federal Reserve to soon halt its hikes to rates.

The government's consumer spending report that will be released before the opening bell contains a measure of inflation that is closely watched by the Fed, which has been raising rates furiously for more than a year in an effort to bring down inflation not seen since the early 1980s.

Analysts forecast that inflation retreated from the previous month, which had come in higher than expected. Measured year over year, prices increased 4.4 per cent in April, up from 4.2 per cent in March.

That's down sharply from a 7 per cent peak last June but remains far above the Fed's 2 per cent target.

Before the Fed's most recent meeting in June when officials declined to bump up rates, the central bank had raised its benchmark borrowing rate 10 times in the past 15 months in its campaign to stifle inflation. The Fed's mission includes cooling the economy and the job market, which has proven more difficult than expected.

On Thursday, most stocks climbed on Wall Street following the latest signs that the US economy remains stronger than feared.

Yields jumped in the bond market after data showed the US economy grew at a 2 per cent annual rate in the first three months of the year, much stronger than the 1.3 per cent rate earlier estimated. Another report said fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected, a sign that the job market remains remarkably solid despite much higher interest rates meant to slow the overall economy.

That raises questions over whether a long-forecast recession is inevitable. And such resilience could lead the Federal Reserve to see the economy as strong enough to keep hiking interest rates to drive down inflation.

High rates slow inflation by dragging on the entire economy, and they have already hurt the manufacturing, technology, banking and housing sectors.

In Asia, China reported slower factory activity in June due to weaker consumer spending and export demand, adding to signs that an economic rebound following the end of anti-virus controls is cooling.

China's economy revived following the end in December of pandemic controls on travel and business activity.

But that revival has faded due to lackluster consumer spending at home and weak demand for exports following interest rate hikes in the United States and Europe to cool inflation.

The Shanghai Composite index jumped 0.6 per cent to 3,206.06 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged 0.1 per cent higher, to 18,949.70. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.1 per cent to 33,189.04.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.1 per cent higher to 7,203.30, while the Kospi in Seoul picked up 0.6 per cent to 2,564.28. Shares fell in Taiwan but advanced in Bangkok and Mumbai.

Germany's DAX and the CAC 40 in Paris each climbed 1.1 per cent by midday, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7 per cent.

In other trading Friday, the dollar slipped to 144.63 Japanese yen from 144.77 yen. The euro inched back to USD 1.0866 from USD 1.0867.

US benchmark crude oil added 2 cents to USD 69.88 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It gained 30 cents on Thursday to USD 69.86 per barrel.

Brent crude oil, the international pricing standard, rose 9 cents to USD 74.60 per barrel.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent and is on track for its sixth winning week in the last seven. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq composite edged down less than 0.1 per cent. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)