Stocks rose Friday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closing out their third winning weeks in a row as a measure of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve came in at its lowest in nearly two years.

The Dow jumped 176.57 points, or 0.50%, to 35,459.29. The S&P 500 added 0.99% to 4,582.23. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.90% to 14,316.66.

All three major averages notched weekly gains with the 30-stock average up by about 0.66%. On Thursday, the Dow ended a 13-day win streak, a length not seen since 1987. The S&P advanced 1.01%, and the tech-heavy index is up 2.02%.

This week, investors cheered data showing cooling inflation and stronger-than-expected earnings reports that supported the case the U.S. could avoid a recession.

On Friday, June data for the personal consumption expenditures price index continued to show easing inflation. The gauge showed core PCE gained 0.2% month-over-month, in line with the 0.2% increase expected by economists polled by Dow Jones. Core PCE rose 4.1% from the year-ago period, lower than the anticipated 4.2%.

The data is of particular interest after the central bank raised interest rates earlier this week in a widely expected move. The Fed targets inflation at 2% annually.

"In the wake of stronger than expected GDP, and a better-than-expected earnings season, this could be the catalyst to send the market to new highs," wrote Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group.

Earnings season continued with Dow member Procter & Gamble shares gaining nearly 3%. The consumer goods company behind Tide and other brands beat analysts' earnings and revenue expectations in its most recent quarter.

Intel jumped 6.6% as investors applauded a return to profitability, while Roku climbed 31% a day after beating Wall Street expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

On the other hand, Ford Motor shares fell 3.4% even though the automaker beat estimates and raised guidance. The company said its electric vehicle adoption was taking longer than expected due to higher costs.

Stocks close higher Friday

The major averages ended the week higher Friday.

The Dow jumped 176.57 points, or 0.50%, to 35,459.29. The S&P 500 added 0.99% to 4,582.23. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.90% to 14,316.66.

Week to date, the 30-stock average rose 0.66%. The S&P advanced 1.01%, and the tech-heavy index climbed 2.02%.

— Sarah Min

The China Internet ETF posts best day since January

The China Internet ETF jumped about 7.4%, notching its best day since January 4 when it gained 8.81%. The index was led by East Buy. The U.S.-listed shares of TAL Education Group, which jumped 24%. IQIYI shares rose 28%.

This week, KWEB is up 12.5% in its best week since January 6 when it gained 14.47%.

— Gina Francolla, Sarah Min

July jobs report and more Big Tech earnings are in the week ahead

More Big Tech earnings and the jobs report are in the week ahead as investors wrap up a strong week that included a historic run for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. 

The Dow and the S&P 500 are headed for their third straight week of gains on Friday. On Wednesday, the 30-stock Dow posted a 13-day advance that matched the index's longest streak of gains going back to 1987. 

Markets continued their upward momentum as more inflation data pointed toward signs of cooling, and earnings came in far better than feared. That added to the bull case that the U.S. economy can manage a soft landing.

"While the economy isn't like white hot, it ain't bad," said Kim Forrest, founder and chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Sarah Min

Stocks are higher shortly into final hour of trading

The major averages were gaining in the final hour of trading.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 194 points, or 0.55%. The S&P 500 advanced 1%, and the Nasdaq Composite rallied nearly 2%.

— Sarah Min

Raymond James gets bullish on small-cap bank

A strong second quarter from Business First Bancshares makes the stock a regional bank name to own, according to Raymond James.

Analyst Michael Rose upgraded Business First Bancshares to outperform from market perform on Friday after the company reported that its second quarter earnings rose year over year and relative to the first quarter.

"Our now constructive stance on BFST shares reflects its more measured approach to growth which is supportive of NIM/ net interest income growth moving forward ... Additionally, we see ongoing growth/ expansion in Texas (~37% of loans/ ~16% of deposits) as supportive of franchise value expansion," Rose said in a note to clients.

The bank is small, with a market cap of under $1 billion. The stock was up 23% on Friday.

— Jesse Pound

Utilities among S&P 500's worst weekly performers

Utilities stocks disappointed this week, dragging down the S&P 500 sector more than 2%.

As of 1:55 p.m. ET the sector was the worst performer in the broad-based index for the week, day, and year. It lost 0.6% during Friday's session and is down more than 5% since the start of 2023.

The biggest losers for the week included Nextera Energy and AES Corporation, last down more than 4% each. Evergy, Alliant Energy, Xcel Energy and Eversource Energy had shed at least 3% week to date.

— Samantha Subin

Electric vehicle stocks rise

Electric vehicle stocks gained on Friday as Ford Motor shares lost nearly 4% after postponing its EV production targets.

Ford on Thursday posted second-quarter earnings that topped Wall Street's estimates but pushed out production expectations due slower-than-anticipated EV adoption.

Tesla shares gained 4%, while Lucid Group popped more than 7%. Fisker and Nikola added 1% and 6.7%, respectively.

Another winner was Xpeng. Shares surged nearly 13% on the back of an upgrade from Jefferies. Earlier in the week, Volkswagen said it signed a deal to develop a two new EVs with the Chinese automaker

— Samantha Subin

Earnings season reaches midway point

With the S&P 500 more than halfway through second-quarter earnings season, here's how some of the largest companies are faring:

Of the 254 companies, 51% of the index, that have reported earnings, 79% have topped earnings expectations, while 63% have exceeded revenue estimates, according to Refinitiv.

Even so, earnings are expected to fall 6.4%, based on the blended growth rate. This would be the biggest contraction since third-quarter earnings in 2020.

— Robert Hum, Samantha Subin

Stifel upgrades Crocs to a buy

Stifel sees some positive tailwinds ahead for Crocs, upgrading the shoemaker to a buy from a hold rating.

"Profit pool diversification, improved balance sheet optionality, and a very forgiving valuation increase our confidence in risk adjusted return prospects for CROX shares," said Jim Duffy in a Thursday note to clients.

The stock fell 14.6% during Thursday's session after cutting the sales growth outlook for its Heydude brand.

But Duffy views the post-earnings selloff in shares as a reset and opportunity for investors. He adjusted his price target to $130 from $140, reflecting 27% upside from Thursday's close.

Shares gained 5.5% on Friday.

— Samantha Subin

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading. 

Intel — The chip stock jumped more than 6% after the company posted better-than-expected second-quarter earnings results.

Roku – Shares popped more than 25% after the company reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the recent quarter.

Procter & Gamble — The consumer giant's stock climbed nearly 5%, boosting the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average. The rally came after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations. 

Boston Beer — The alcohol beverage company saw its shares soar more than 18% following a stronger-than-expected quarterly report.

— Yun Li

Technology stocks rally, lift Nasdaq

Technology stocks climbed on Friday, boosting the Nasdaq Composite by more than 2% midday Friday.

Major gainers included technology giants and semiconductor stocks. Alphabet, Amazon and Netflix rose about 3% each, while Meta Platforms jumped more than 4%, bringing its weekly gains to nearly 11%. Nvidia added 2%, while Applied Materials and KLA Corp gained more than 4% each. Tesla surged 4%.

Lucid Group jumped nearly 8%, while Intel rallied nearly 7% on better-than-expected earnings and a return to profitability. Other gainers included Chinese technology stocks JD.com and PDD, last up about 5% and 7%, respectively.

— Samantha Subin

Regional banks on track for best month since 2016

The SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF is up more than 19% since the start of July and on track for its best month on record since October 2016, when it gained 19.7%.

If the index pushes beyond that 2016 high, it would mark the best month since October 2011.

The biggest gainers include ServisFirst Bancshares, Zions, Customers Bancorp, Live Oak and Western Alliance, all up more than 40% this month.

For the week, its up more than 5% and on track for its fifth straight winning week for the first time since May 2021.

— Gina Francolla, Samantha Subin

Goldman Sachs reiterates buy rating on First Solar

Goldman Sachs remains bullish on First Solar on the back of its second-quarter earnings and revenue beat.

The company posted $1.59 earnings per share on $811 million in revenue, while analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had estimated 96 cents per share on revenue of $721 million.

"Since the passage of the [Inflation Reduction Act], FSLR has cumulatively amended ~10GW of contracts to provide [average selling price] upside related to U.S. manufacturing, and we see more potential for ongoing pricing power leverage in future contracts/renegotiations," Lee said. 

The solar stock was last down nearly 0.4%.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Hakyung Kim

Biogen's Alzheimer's drug could spark demand for diagnostic tests, companies say

Investors are well aware of all the companies that have hyped the opportunity they see from artificial intelligence. Many hoped that the mere association with AI would be a boon for their stock prices.

Now, health-care companies appear to be scrambling to be associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to Gordon Haskett's Don Bilson. Both GE Healthcare and Quest Diagnostics said on earnings calls this week that they expected to see more demand for blood tests and radiological imaging as patients seek treatment, Bilson said. Biogen and Eisai recently received full FDA approval to market a drug that slows the mind-wasting disease.

Neither company put any specific sales estimates behind their comments, but GE Healthcare CEO Peter Arduini said, "We believe that this is a pretty profound growth opportunity across the space."

Biogen shares rose 0.4% in midday trading.

—Christina Cheddar Berk

Communication services sector outperforms in S&P 500

Communication services outpaced the S&P 500 on Friday. The sector was higher by 1.8%.

Major advancers included Meta Platforms, which was up more than 2.8%. Warner Bros. Discovery gained 2.5%. Alphabet added 2.4%.

— Sarah Min

Analysts step to the sidelines in Southwest Airlines

Several Wall Street analysts downgraded Southwest Airlines after the Dallas-based carrier's second-quarter earnings report disappointed investors. The airline said that its ongoing struggles with lower unit revenue on higher costs are likely to continue into the current quarter.

"After comparing June quarter operating and pretax margins to the four airlines that have already reported (i.e., Alaska, American, Delta, and United), Southwest did not look so fine ranking last,"  Deutsche analyst Michael Linenberg wrote in a Friday note.

The stock was up slightly, by 0.3%, Friday.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the downgrades here.

— Hakyung Kim

Investor bullishness pulled back this week but stayed above average for 8th week, AAII says

Investor bullishness weakened 6.5 points to 44.9% this week, down from 51.4% last week, but remained above the historic average of 37.5% for an 8th straight week — the longest stretch above the historic average since early 2021, the American Association of Individual Investors said Thursday. "Optimism is back within its typical range after its unusually high reading last week," the AAII said.

AAII bearishness rose to 31.0% of those polled from 27.1% last week. The historic average is 31.5%.

Meanwhile, in the Investors Intelligence survey this week, bullish financial newsletter editors and advisors edged higher, to 55.6% from 54.2% last week. Bearishness rose to 19.4% from 18.0%. The spread between bulls and bears was unchanged at 36.2 points, just below the June 2023 peak of 36.6 points that was the highest since November 2021.

— Scott Schnipper

Employment cost index rose less than expected in Q2

The employment cost index, a measure the Federal Reserve considers an important indicator of underlying inflation, increased less than expected in the second quarter.

The index rose 1% for the three-month period ending in June, slightly below the 1.1% estimate, the Labor Department reported Friday.

On an annual basis, compensation costs increased 4.5%, slightly ahead of the 4.1% increase for core inflation as reported Friday by the Commerce Department. That annual ECI level was below the 5.1% pace from the previous year.

—Jeff Cox

Stocks open higher Friday

The major averages opened higher Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 177 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 added 0.7%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.07%.

— Sarah Min

Jefferies upgrades Xpeng shares to buy

Joint development plans with Volkswagen mark a new chapter for Xpeng, Jefferies says. The firm upgraded its rating on Xpeng shares to buy from hold.

The partnership marks "the start of China [original equipment manufacturers] exporting technologies to foreign players [and] will help Xpeng to increase its brand image globally," analyst Johnson Wan wrote in a Thursday note. 

Wan added that Xpeng's sales momentum is on an uptrend and raised his 2023-2024 sales volume forecasts.

Xpeng shares gained almost 7% Friday before the bell.

More about the upgrade can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

JPMorgan upgrades New York Community Bank

For the first time during its coverage of New York Community Bank dating back to the great financial crisis, JPMorgan upgraded shares to overweight from neutral. 

"With ~$120B of assets behind the company and a new energy under CEO Tom Cangemi, we see New York Community emerging as a potential massive market share taker over the next several years," analyst Steven Alexopoulos wrote in a Friday note. 

Shares rose 2.9% Friday during premarket trading.

The full story on the upgrade can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Key Fed inflation rate falls to lowest annual rate in nearly 2 years

Inflation showed further signs of cooling in June, according to a gauge released Friday that the Federal Reserve follows closely.

The personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy increased just 0.2% from the previous month, in line with the Dow Jones estimate, the Commerce Department said.

So-called core PCE rose 4.1% from a year ago, compared to the estimate for 4.2%. The annual rate was the lowest since September 2021.

— Jeff Cox

Stocks moving before the bell: Intel, Roku, Procter & Gamble and more

These are some of the stocks moving the most before the bell:

• Intel — Shares popped 6.7% after the chipmaker posted better-than-expected second-quarter results and a return to profitability after two consecutive losing periods.
• Roku — The streaming stock rallied nearly 10% after reporting a narrower-than-expected loss for the second quarter. Roku reported a loss of 76 cents a share and revenues of $847 million.
• Procter & Gamble — The consumer giant saw shares rise more than 1% in premarket trading after the company reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations. However, P&G released a gloomy outlook for its fiscal 2024 sales that fell short of Wall Street's estimates.

Read the full list of premarket movers here.

— Samantha Subin

Exxon Mobil shares tick lower in premarket after earnings miss

Exxon Mobil fell 0.4% in premarket trading after reporting a second-quarter earnings miss. The oil giant posted adjusted earnings of $1.94 per share, lower than the estimate of $2.01 per share expected by analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Exxon Mobil did beat on revenue expectations. The company reported $82.91 billion, better than the anticipated $80.19 billion.

— Sarah Min

Procter & Gamble rise after earnings beat

Procter & Gamble shares gained more than 1.1% Friday after the consumer goods company behind Tide, Dawn and other brands reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations.

Here's what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:

• Earnings per share: $1.37 vs. $1.32 expected
• Revenue: $20.55 billion vs. $19.98 billion expected

— Amelia Lucas, Sarah Min

2-year Treasury yields fall as investors await latest inflation insights

U.S. Treasury yields were mixed on Friday as investors looked to the release of the latest instalment of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. They also assessed the outlook for global monetary policy after a series of interest rate decisions from central banks around the world.

At 4:38 a.m. ET, the 2-year Treasury yield was down by around five basis points to 4.8889%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was last trading at 4.0006% after falling by just over one basis point.

— Sophie Kiderlin

Yields for 10-year Japanese government bonds at highest levels in almost 9 years

Yields for 10-year Japanese government bonds stood at 0.539% after the Bank of Japan announced an adjustment in its stance for its yield curve control policy.

This is the first time 10-year JGB yields have hit this level since September 2014.

The BOJ said it will still allow yields to fluctuate in the range of around plus and minus 0.5%, but it will "conduct yield curve control with greater flexibility, regarding the upper and lower bounds the range as references, not as rigid limits, in its market operations."

Separately, Japan's central bank held its benchmark policy rate at -0.1%.

— Lim Hui Jie

Yen strengthens after reports of Bank of Japan allowing long term rates to go over 0.5%

The Japanese yen has strengthened 0.38% against the greenback to trade at 138.95 after a report that the Bank of Japan will discuss tweaking its yield curve control policy.

Nikkei has learnt that the BOJ will let long-term interest rates rise beyond its cap of 0.5% "by a certain degree."

Under its yield curve control policy, the central bank targets short-term interest rates at -0.1% and the 10-year government bond yield at 0.5% above or below zero,

"The proposed change would keep the rate ceiling, but allow for moderate rises beyond that level," Nikkei added.

— Lim Hui Jie

China’s housing ministry is getting ‘bolder’ about real estate support

China's housing ministry has announced plans to make it easier for people to buy property.

"It seems to us that [the housing ministry] is quick in response this time and also gets bolder on relaxing property policies," Jizhou Dong, China property research analyst at Nomura, said in a note Friday.

Hong Kong-traded Chinese property stocks such as Longfor, Country Garden and Greentown China traded higher Friday, on pace to close out the week with gains after plunging on Monday over debt worries.

However, markets still await details on local implementation. China has also not yet announced formal measures for supporting real estate.

— Evelyn Cheng

Tokyo inflation rate ticks up to 3.2% in July

The consumer price index in Japan's capital city of Tokyo rose 3.2% year on year in July, slightly higher than the 3.1% recorded in the previous month.

This is the 14th straight month that the inflation rate in the capital came in above the Bank of Japan's 2% target.

Core inflation in Tokyo - which strips out prices of fresh food - came in at 3%, slightly higher than the 2.9% expected by economies polled by Reuters, but lower than June's figure of 3.2%.

— Lim Hui Jie

What to expect from Friday's PCE inflation data

June data for the personal consumption expenditures price index is due Friday morning. The Federal Reserve closely follows this indicator of inflation.

Economists polled by Dow Jones expect that core PCE rose 0.2% from the previous month and 4.2% from 12 months earlier.

— Alex Harring

Stocks remain on track for winning week

Thursday's slide wasn't enough to erase weekly gains — though they are marginal. With just Friday's session left in the trading week, here's where the three major indexes stand:

• The Dow is up 0.16%
• The S&P 500 is up 0.02%
• The Nasdaq Composite is up 0.12%.

— Alex Harring

See the stocks making the biggest moves after hours

These are some of the stocks making the biggest after-hour moves:

• Intel — The technology stock jumped 8% as investors cheered a return to profitability and better-than-expected guidance.
• Ford — The automaker slipped 1% after raising full-year guidance and beating expectations for the second quarter.
• Roku — The streamer added 8.5% following a better-than-expected quarterly report.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring