Wall Street stocks rose in morning trading on Friday but
are still moving towards another week of losses following a massive pullback
two days ago.

The S&P 500 rose 13.87 points or 0.36% to 3,914.66 as
of 10:18 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, but it is still strongly headed for its
seventh weekly decline in a row after getting close to entering a bear market this
week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 52.21 points or 0.17% to 31,305.34.
The Nasdaq rose 39.13 points or 0.34% to 11,427.63. All three are on track for a loss of 2% or more for the
week.

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Technology stocks and healthcare stocks made solid gains.
Pfizer surged 3.6% and Apple gained 1%. The tech sector has been highly
volatile and triggered many of the big swings in the market throughout the
week.

Bond yields declined. The yield on the 10-year Treasury
fell to 2.83% from 2.85% late Thursday.

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The stock market remains in a slump amid concerns about
how inflation is affecting businesses and consumers. Investors are also worried
that the Federal Reserve’s plan to aggressively raise interest rates can lead
to recession if it raises rates too high or too quickly.

Inflationary pressure has worsened due to Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine, pushing energy and some key food commodity prices higher,
China, the world’s second-largest economy, took a renewed hit from lockdowns in
key cities because of COVID-19 cases, but a sudden interest rate cut from the
Chinese government has at least temporarily relieved some anxiety.

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Asian and European made solid gains.

Wall Street has been watching earnings reports from
retailers this week. The sector is crucial as investors try to measure how much
damage inflation is impacting company operations and whether higher prices on
everything from food to clothing are prompting consumers to tighten their
spending.

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Retail majors Target and Walmart both had warnings this
week about inflation cutting into finances. Discount retailer Ross Stores
tumbled 22.2% on Friday after cutting its profit forecast and citing rising
inflation as a factor.

Several retailers surged after encouraging returns. Ugg
footwear maker Deckers Outdoor rallied 18.6% and Foot Locker jumped 5% after
beating analysts’ earnings estimate.

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Investors keep an eye on the Fed for hints of more
interest rate hikes to fight inflation, which is at its four-decade high. Fed
Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank might take more aggressive action
if price pressures fail to ease.