Wall Street ended higher on Friday as oil prices retreated and strong consumer price data reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week to fight inflation.
AI server maker Dell soared 12% to a record high. Hewlett Packard Enterprise jumped 12% and HP (HPQ.N), opens new tab gained 8.4% after Oracle's quarterly results topped estimates. Oracle dipped 1.8%.
U.S. consumer prices, opens new tab accelerated last month as the cost of gasoline rebounded after two straight monthly declines, adding pressure on the Fed to tighten monetary policy to fight inflation.
Interest rate futures now reflect a nearly 90% probability that the central bank will raise rates at its policy meeting on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch tool. That is up from a 72% likelihood on Thursday.
"That's pretty much as close to a slam dunk as you're going to get," said Thomas Martin, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta. "The Fed will do the right thing and raise rates, and that is good at the margin for keeping inflation in check."