Stocks have moved sharply higher in morning trading on Friday, extending the strong upward move seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages have all moved to the upside on the day, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq once again leading the way higher.
In recent trading, the major averages have reached new highs for the session. The Nasdaq is up 288.88 points or 2.5 percent at 12,029.53, the S&P 500 is up 64.92 points or 1.6 percent at 4,122.76 and the Dow is up 234.98 points or 0.7 percent at 32,872.17.
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May 01, 2026 15:54 ET Central banks dominated the economics news flow this week with almost all major ones announcing their latest policy decisions and many boosted expectations for a rate hike in June. In other news, several countries released the preliminary data for first quarter economic growth. In the U.S., comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell were also in focus as his term ends this month.