U.S. stocks are rising as optimism on Fed rate path solidifies

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are rising on Friday on optimism that the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its interest rate increases.

At 10:27 ET (14:27 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 88 points or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.2% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.02%.

Signs that inflation is cooling are fueling the hopes. The Fed kept interest rates steady at its meeting this week, though left itself room for more rate increases later this year depending on what the data in the coming months show.

The S&P and Nasdaq are near highs they haven’t reached in more than a year, as tech stocks rally at the prospect of rate hikes ending.

The Fed did say the benchmark rate could reach 5.6% this year, which is higher than an earlier forecast for 5.1%. Futures traders see a 75% probability that the Fed will move rates higher in July by another quarter of a percentage point.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and other big tech names are leading the sector higher. Microsoft closed at a record high on Thursday, with a market value of over $2.5 trillion. Chip maker NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), which also recently entered the trillion-dollar club, is also rising 2.1% on Friday to a new 52-week high.

Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE) was up 2.4% after the Photoshop maker beat expectations on its outlook as it beats the drum on artificial intelligence.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment reading for June was 63.9, higher than the expected 60 and the highest since mid-March.

Oil was muted. {{8849|WTI)} ticked up 0.5% to $71.03 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 0.4% to $76 a barrel. Gold was down 0.1% to $1,967.