Wall Street Rallies Friday             07/26 09:35

   U.S. stocks are climbing Friday as they close out a bumpy week dominated by 
sharp, market-cleaving swings.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are climbing Friday as they close out a bumpy 
week dominated by sharp, market-cleaving swings.

   The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in early trading following 
stronger-than-expected profit reports from 3M and several other big companies. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 415 points, or 1%, as of 9:35 a.m. 
Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% higher.

   The market's gains were widespread, including both Big Tech behemoths and 
smaller stocks. That's a departure from much of this week, where a divide 
deepened between the handful of elite stocks that have dominated the market 
this year and almost everyone else.

   Nvidia rose 2.6% to cut into what had been a 4.8% loss for the week. Other 
members of the small group of stocks known as the "Magnificent Seven" also rose 
to claw back some of their losses from earlier in the week. They were under 
pressure after the latest profit results from Tesla and Alphabet raised worries 
among investors that they had gotten carried away by the frenzy around 
artificial-intelligence technology and taken Magnificent Seven prices too high.

   As those old leaders of the market's leaderboard tumbled, formerly 
downtrodden areas of the market turned higher, and they continued their 
momentum Friday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks rose 1.7%. It's up 
more than 10% this month, far better than the slight drop for the big stocks in 
the S&P 500.

   Industrial companies and other businesses whose profits are closely tied to 
the strength of the economy also rallied. They have lagged this year as high 
interest weighed on the U.S. economy and slowed its growth.

   Norfolk Southern jumped 10% to erase what had been a loss for the year so 
far after the rail company reported better profit for the latest quarter than 
analysts expected. It got a boost from insurance payments related to last 
year's disastrous East Palestine derailment. The company also made progress in 
reducing its expenses and improving efficiency.

   3M rose 13.7% after reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest 
quarter than analysts expected. The company behind the Scotch-Brite and Nexcare 
brands also raised the bottom end of its forecasted range for profit for the 
full year of 2024.

   Stocks generally got another boost from the latest update on inflation , 
which investors saw as further proof that their expectations for coming cuts to 
interest rates will prove true.

   Prices rose just 0.1% from May to June, the Commerce Department said Friday, 
up from the previous month's unchanged reading. Compared with a year earlier, 
inflation declined to 2.5% from 2.6%, according to the personal consumption 
expenditures index, which the Federal Reserve pays particularly close attention 
to.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.19% from 4.25% late Thursday and 
from 4.70% in April. That's a significant move for the bond market and offers 
support for stock prices.

   Among the other winners on Wall Street, where nearly 90% of the stocks in 
the S&P 500 were rising, Deckers Outdoors jumped 12.5% after it breezed past 
Wall Street's earnings expectations on the strength of its Ugg and Hoka brand 
footwear. The California company also raised its full-year profit forecast.

   Newell Brands soared 26% after the owner of Coleman camping supplies and 
Sharpie markers easily topped analysts' profit targets.

   In stock markets abroad, stock indexes were higher across much of Europe and 
Asia. Japan's Nikkei 225 was an outlier and slipped 0.5% amid expectations the 
Bank of Japan may raise interest rates at a policy meeting next week.