Stocks ended the day and the week slightly higher Friday, as investors shrugged off a report showing inflation in the U.S. rising 5%, its fastest pace since 2008. The major stock market averages posted a mixed showing, with the Nasdaq up 1.9% for its fourth straight weekly gain, the S&P 500 showing a 0.4% gain, and the Dow Jones falling 0.8% for the week.

Every day in the financial media, we are inundated with numbers and statistics; “The market was up 1.2% today”, “The S&P hit an all-time high”, “The market had it worst 11 day period ever”, “The market had its best 3 day run in the last 40 years”….

U.S. equities logged modest gains last week and closed the week just off all-time highs as the monthly employment report for May continued to show progress in the healing of the labor market but fell short of expectations for the second month in a row. For the week, the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, while the Dow Jones and Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.

Stocks climbed a little higher Friday to finish positive for the week, as optimism over the post-pandemic U.S. economic recovery drove the investment narrative heading into the Memorial Day weekend. Stocks moved up despite a 0.7% increase in the core personal consumption price gauge for April that was the biggest monthly gain since October 2001.

U.S. equities slid lower for a second straight week as investors assessed the potential for the Federal Reserve to begin scaling back accommodative policy at upcoming meetings amid continued robust U.S. economic data and rising prices.