U.S. stocks rallied in a sharp rebound on Friday as investors set aside inflation worries and bought shares hammered by the week’s volatility, with the shift back into riskier assets dragging on the dollar.
The jump in shares was in step with buoyant global stocks as investors put on the back burner concerns that rising prices could lead the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected and reduce the gush of cash that has propelled financial markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 1%, the S&P 500 jumped 1.5%, the most on any day since March 26, and the Nasdaq Composite leaped 2.3%, its biggest one-day rise in about two months.
The MSCI World Index, which tracks 50 markets, jumped 1.5%.
But some warned that investors may be too complacent if they ignore the dangers of accelerating price pressures.
“I don’t see us off to the races,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel, which manages about $4 billion in assets. He said inflation risks are “real” and financial markets will likely be choppy for some time.
“You could buy (stocks) if you could sleep at night with the volatility, but I might have a slug of cash, too.”
Indeed, even with Friday’s strong recovery, U.S. stocks still notched their worst performances in nearly three months for the week.
