The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 331 points Friday, marking a strong weekly performance for the stock market despite lingering inflation anxieties. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% on Friday alone and achieved a 5% gain this week—its best performance since November 2023. A surge in optimism was fueled by easing trade tensions between the U.S. and China, along with tech sector gains. The Nasdaq Composite saw a jump of 0.5%, while the S&P 500 gained 3%. Tech giants like Nvidia, Meta, and Apple posted notable gains during the week. However, the market rally was interrupted by weak consumer sentiment data. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to its second-lowest reading ever at 50.8. This decline coupled with surging inflation expectations for the next year (7.8%) fueled concerns about stagflation. Despite this, some analysts see a repricing of the risk of economic stagnation in the market.