Stocks jumped out of the gate Friday and never looked back. Boosting market sentiment was an encouraging reading on inflation – which hit just ahead of next week's Fed meeting – and a round of well-received earnings reports.
Starting with the inflation data. Ahead of the open, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said the Personal Consumption and Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose 0.3% from May to June. The annual increase slowed to 2.5% from 2.6% the month prior. Meanwhile, core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was up 0.2% month-to-month and 2.6% year-over-year.
