The three major US averages closed at fresh record highs after a softer-than-expected inflation report increased the odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year and pushed investors into risk assets. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq gained 1% and the Dow added 470 points. Tech led the rally as AMD and IBM jumped 7.5% and 8.77% respectively after IBM said it had successfully run a key quantum error-correction algorithm on AMD chips, lifting sentiment across the sector. Intel rose 1.6% after returning to profitability and issuing an upbeat revenue forecast, Nvidia rose 2.8%, Broadcom gained 3.1% and Alphabet climbed 3.1%. Financials rallied on the prospect that easier policy will revive lending, with JPMorgan up 3%, Bank of America up 1.9%, Goldman Sachs rising 4.4% and Citi up 2.7%. Ford shares jumped 13.3% after the automaker posted strong third-quarter results that beat expectations. For the week the S&P 500 rose about 1.8%, the Nasdaq and the Dow gained 2%.
India's BSE Sensex closed about 0.4% down at 84,212 on Friday, on profit-booking after a six-day rally that sent the index to the highest since September last year. Market sentiment was affected by global uncertainties ahead of key US economic data that might influence the Fed's policy. In particular, traders grew more cautious on hopes for a US-India trade deal after Trade Minister Piyush Goyal stated that India will not rush into agreements and will reject any conditions that limit its trading options. Regarding domestic data, a PMI survey showed that India's private sector growth slowed to a five-month low. On the corporate front, losses were led by Hindustan Unilever, which tumbled 3.2%t after posting a 4% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit for Q2 FY26. Other top decliners included Adani Ports, UltraTech Cement, and Titan, while ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Bharat Electronics and Sun Pharma were the top gainers. For the week, the index rose about 0.3%.
