U.S. stocks rose on Friday after a choppy trading session as traders considered Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s latest comments on inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 372 points, or about 1.17%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose 1.51% and 2.11%, respectively.
Shares of DocuSign rose more than 17% in extended trading after the electronic agreements company reported a rise in earnings. The company also issued a revenue forecast for the third quarter that was higher than expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 193 points, or 0.61%, in Thursday’s regular session, closing higher after alternating gains and losses throughout the day. The S&P 500 rose 0.66% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.60%.
Those gains put the three major averages on pace to snap a three-week losing streak. Through Thursday, the Dow is up 1.45%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 2.09% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 1.99%.
Stocks have been volatile recently as expectations for a 0.75 percentage point rate hike this month grew on Wall Street after the Fed chairman reiterated that he is “strongly committed” to cutting inflation
“The case for the ongoing bear market is that the Fed will continue to tighten monetary policy, removing liquidity from the market and causing a rout in stocks,” said David Donabedian, chief investment officer at CIBC Private Wealth US. “But this week’s market recovery has shown that there is continued resilience in the economy underpinned by favorable economic reports.”
Still, Donabedian added that he doesn’t think the stock has yet bottomed out in the bear market.
“Indeed, the journey to the next bull market will take time and will be marked by a series of pullbacks and recoveries,” he said.