US stocks trend higher, set for biggest weekly gains in years

Major US equity indices witnessed yet another positive opening on Friday, gaining for the sixth consecutive session, as investors shrugged off signs of a pickup in inflation. 

A reading on import prices for January showed a 1% m-o-m increase and added to his week's hotter-than-expected consumer price inflation, which might now influence market expectations over the Federal Reserve's interest-rate plans. 

Investors focus, however, remained on economic growth and corporate profits. The recent strong quarterly earnings, coupled with expectations of a strong economic growth, backed by the newly implemented corporate tax cuts, helped stocks to regain positive traction and reversed a major part of last week’s steep losses.

Nevertheless, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader S&P 500 Index remain on track for weekly gains of over 4%, the biggest weekly rise since Nov. 2016. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index outperformed the broader indices and is up more than 5% for the week, its best week since October 2014.