The three major US averages closed at fresh record highs after a softer-than-expected inflation report increased the odds of Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year and pushed investors into risk assets. The S&P 500 rose 0.8%, the Nasdaq gained 1% and the Dow added 470 points. Tech led the rally as AMD and IBM jumped 7.5% and 8.77% respectively after IBM said it had successfully run a key quantum error-correction algorithm on AMD chips, lifting sentiment across the sector. Intel rose 1.6% after returning to profitability and issuing an upbeat revenue forecast, Nvidia rose 2.8%, Broadcom gained 3.1% and Alphabet climbed 3.1%. Financials rallied on the prospect that easier policy will revive lending, with JPMorgan up 3%, Bank of America up 1.9%, Goldman Sachs rising 4.4% and Citi up 2.7%. Ford shares jumped 13.3% after the automaker posted strong third-quarter results that beat expectations. For the week the S&P 500 rose about 1.8%, the Nasdaq and the Dow gained 2%.
