U.S. stocks are rising as inflation data meets expectations

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were rising after inflation data largely met expectations.

At 10:50 ET (14:50 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 176 points or 0.5%, while the S&P 500 was up 0.5% and the NASDAQ Composite was up 0.3%.

A closely watched inflation measure rose as expected, which is confirming expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates next week by another quarter of a percentage point.

The personal consumption expenditure index rose 4.2% in March from one year ago, slowing from a 5.1% annual increase in February. On a monthly basis, PCE rose 0.1%, lower than expectations. Excluding food and energy prices, the core PCE was up 4.6% compared with expectations for a 4.5% rise.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares were falling 3.6% after it said uncertain economic times were slowing revenue in its cloud computing unit, which has cast a shadow over otherwise positive results for the first quarter.

Disappearing message app Snap Inc.'s (NYSE:SNAP) shares fell 18% after it said advertising trends continue to weigh on results, and Pinterest Inc. (NYSE:PINS) also forecast slower than expected second quarter revenue growth because of advertising spending. Its shares were down 17.6%.

The earnings news is coming amid signs the economy is slowing. On Thursday, a reading of first quarter gross domestic product rose 1.1%, lower than expected, triggering fears the economy could dip into a recession. Futures traders have been betting on a Fed rate hike next week, and then a pause at the meeting in June.

Later this morning, the Fed will release the results of an internal review of its supervision of Silicon Valley Bank, which collapsed in March and sparked fears of a broader contagion in the banking sector. Another regional lender, First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC), was halted on Friday after falling 20% on fading hopes for a deal.