Wall Street Today | Indexes Rise for Eighth Straight Week Ahead of Christmas Break

U.S. stocks ended a choppy, pre-holiday trading session mostly higher Friday, with major indexes scoring an eight-straight weekly gain after a subdued PCE inflation reading.

The Dow was left with a weekly gain of 0.2%, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.2%.

The Fed's preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures price index, fell 0.1% in November from the previous month, the first decline since April 2020, the Commerce Department said Friday. Prices were up 2.6% on the year, not far from the Fed's 2% target, which boosted Americans' spirits and offered greater reassurance that the U.S. economy can avoid a recession while bringing prices under control.

ARKK's Cathie Wood predicts deflation will be a key theme in 2024, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut rates aggressively. This economic environment, combined with technological progress, sets up firms that are well-adapted to deflation and dedicated to innovation for significant expansion in the upcoming years.

Officials from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held individual phone meetings with those who are interested in launching a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) Thursday afternoon, according to FOX Business. While some of the calls discussed minor details related to the application process, a clear message was conveyed about the ETFs' necessary structure.

Based on conversations with the SEC staff, asset managers remain confident that a favorable decision from the SEC will be made on or before Jan 10.

In a statement, China's National Press and Publication Administration, the top gaming regulator, proposed curbs on excessive spending on games by consumers, and bans on rewards from multiple logins and pop-up rules that would warn users against overspending on such games.

Following the announcement, HC Wainwright & Co maintained Marathon Digital with a Buy rating on Wednesday and raised the price target from $20 to $24.

Nike announced on Thursday after the market closed that they expect a revenue growth of approximately 1% for the fiscal year. This estimate is lower than their earlier estimation of growth in the mid-single digits. The sports apparel company also revealed plans to reduce costs by $2 billion within the next three years.