Dow Jones adds 600 points, posts weekly gains

US stock indices rose as Treasury yields declined, after the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge matched expectations, boosting hopes for a resumption of the monetary easing cycle.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 1.4%, or 601 points, to 43,840 points, recording a weekly rise of 0.95% to trim monthly losses to 1.6%.

Similarly, the S&P 500 Index added nearly 1.6%, or 92 points, to 5,954 points despite posting a weekly and monthly loss of 1% and 1.45%, respectively.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped around 1.65%, or 302 points, to 18,847 points. The technology index, however, recorded weekly and monthly drops of 3.45% and 3.95%, respectively.

As for the European indices, the STOXX Europe 600 was steady at 557 points, but posted weekly and monthly gains of 0.6% and 3.25%, respectively.

The FTSE 100 inched up 0.6% to 8,809 points. The DAX 40 remained unchanged at 22,551 points, while the CAC 40 advanced 0.1% to 8,111 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 shed 2.9% to 37,155 points. TOPIX lost 2% to 2,682 points. Both indices recorded weekly losses of 4.2% and 2%, and monthly losses of 6.1% and 3.8%, respectively

In the oil market, benchmark Brent crude futures for April delivery—expiring today—fell 1.15% or 86 cents to $73.18 a barrel, posting weekly and monthly losses of 1.7% and 3.3%, respectively.

Similarly, US WTI crude futures for April delivery dropped 0.85% or 59 cents to $69.76 a barrel, recording weekly and monthly losses of 0.9% and 3.1%, respectively.

In the gold market, futures for April delivery declined 1.65% or $47.4 to $2,848.5 per ounce, marking a weekly loss of 1.8% but a monthly gain of 0.5%.

Meanwhile, economic data showed that the Federal Reserve’s preferred core inflation measure slowed to 2.6% in January, down from 2.8% in December, aligning with expectations.