Key keywords: Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, record stock close, eighth winning week, Fed rate cut expectations, US stock market rally, Nasdaq Composite, PCE inflation data U.S. stocks closed sharply higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching a fresh all-time closing high and the S&P 500 extending its longest weekly winning streak in seven years. The 30-stock Dow gained 292.89 points, or 0.75%, to finish at 39,781.37, marking its second record close this week. The broad S&P 500 rose 0.8% to end at 5,234.18, bringing its weekly gain to 2.3% and notching its eighth consecutive positive week, a run not seen since a nine-week streak in late 2017. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed on Friday, climbing 1.14% to close at 16,427.59, with a 2.9% weekly gain that marked its sixth straight winning week. The rally was driven largely by cooling inflation data released earlier in the week that reinforced market expectations for upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. The February personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.5% year-over-year, in line with economist estimates, while core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, climbed 2.8% annually, also matching forecasts. The data eased concerns that persistent inflation would force the Fed to hold rates higher for longer, with the CME FedWatch Tool now pricing in a roughly 72% probability of a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s June policy meeting. Additional economic data also supported the soft landing narrative, with the final March reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index revised up to 79.4, beating analyst expectations and hitting its highest level since July 2021. Tech stocks led Friday’s gains, with mega-cap names including Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia all rising more than 1%, while the semiconductor sector climbed 1.8% on the day. Wall Street analysts have offered mixed views on the extended rally, with many noting that solid corporate earnings growth and supportive monetary policy expectations provide a strong foundation for further gains, while others warn that stretched valuations for large-cap tech stocks leave the market vulnerable to short-term pullbacks if inflation data surprises to the upside or rate cuts are delayed.