The stock market witnessed a relief rally on Friday after four straight losing sessions as investor sentiment was buoyed by better-than-expected retail sales data and strong earnings reported by Citigroup (C). The S&P 500 surged 1.9%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose roughly 2.2% in the week's last trading session.
However, concerns over the Fed’s upcoming interest rate hikes to control the surging inflation, which reached 9.1% last month, above the 8.8% Dow Jones estimate, and the consequent increase in the odds of the economy tipping into a recession are expected to keep the stock market under pressure in the near term.
