Inflation, Omicron? S&P Hits All-Time High

Investors apparently weren't phased by a new report showing that inflation is running at its highest level in about 40 years. The Dow on Friday rose 216 points to 35,970, the S&P 500 rose 44 points to 4,712, and the Nasdaq rose 113 points to 15,630. For the benchmark S&P, that is a record-high close, reports CNBC, capping the index's best week since February. The inflation report, while high, also came in pretty much as expected. “Many have felt the effects of inflation in their day-to-day, so this likely isn’t a huge shocker to the market,” Mike Loewengart of E-Trade tells the AP.

Also helping is the belief that inflation has likely peaked with the latest numbers, notes the Wall Street Journal. “There’s a bit of a relief in the market at the moment," says Edward Park of the investment firm Brooks Macdonald. After the strong week, major indexes have now recovered most of the losses suffered when headlines about the new omicron variant of COVID surfaced about two weeks ago. (More stock market stories.)