- The rally in US equities continued on Friday, as investors weighed strong corporate earnings against concerns about regional banks and inflation. Treasury yields increased.
- The S&P 500 gained 0.8% following better-than-expected earnings from Exxon Mobil and Intel, which rose 1.3% and 4%, respectively. The gains, however, were jeopardised in midday trading after Federal Reserve officials called for broad changes to bank rules in the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's failure.
- The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7%, weighed down by Amazon's 4% drop following a warning about growth in its key cloud computing business. Meanwhile, First Republic Bank fell 43% following reports that FDIC receivership is the most likely outcome for the bank following a run on deposits.
- One of the Fed's preferred inflation gauges, the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, rose 0.3% in March for the second month in a row. According to Commerce Department data, the measure was up 4.6% year on year.
- US equities ended the month 1.5% higher, as corporate earnings boosted investor sentiment in the face of rate hike uncertainty and the possibility of a recession. Charter Communications gained 7.6% after reporting earnings, while Snap Inc. dropped 17% after missing revenue estimates.
