Wall Street major indices finished higher on Friday, as a retreat in oil prices and stronger-than-expected consumer price data reinforced expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its upcoming policy meeting. The S&P 500 climbed 0.86% to end the session at 7,656.98 points, while the Nasdaq gained 0.96% to 26,333.04 points, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.98% to 52,573.29 points.
Inflation Data and Federal Reserve Rate Hike Expectations
US consumer prices accelerated last month as the cost of gasoline rebounded after two straight monthly declines, adding pressure on the central bank to tighten monetary policy. Interest rate futures now reflect a nearly 90% probability that the Federal Reserve will raise rates at its policy meeting on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That figure marks an increase from a 72% likelihood on Thursday. “That’s pretty much as close to a slam dunk as you’re going to get,” said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta. “The Fed will do the right thing and raise rates, and that is good at the margin for keeping inflation in check.”
Equities, Sector Performance, and Corporate Movers
Nine of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose during the Friday session, led by communication services with a 1.35% gain, followed by a 1.13% increase in consumer discretionary. Volume on US exchanges remained relatively light, with 14.0 billion shares traded compared with an average of 14.9 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions. The CBOE Volatility Index fell 2 points to 15.88. Individual equities saw notable movement, with AI server maker Dell soaring 12% to a record high, Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumping 12%, and HP gaining 8.4% after Oracle’s quarterly results topped estimates. Oracle shares themselves dipped 1.8%. In transaction news, shares of ACV Auctions soared 44% after online vehicle auctioneer Copart agreed to buy the company in a nearly $1.9 billion deal.
Oil Market Trends and Weekly Index Performance
Oil prices fell on Friday but remained up around 9% for the week as attacks along Middle East shipping routes stoked concerns about prolonged supply disruptions. Brent crude futures slipped almost 3% but stayed above $104 a barrel. Liz Miller, founder and president of Summit Place Financial Advisors, noted regarding the commodity: “As the conflict in the Middle East wears on, I do think we will see oil prices stabilize, because what we’re seeing right now is this continual uncertainty in both the market and in the oil price commodity.” For the full week, the S&P 500 dipped 0.8% and the Nasdaq lost 0.7%, leaving the S&P 500 down about 2% from its record-high close on August 13 while maintaining a 12% gain for 2026.
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