U.S. stocks advanced on Friday as investors took the opportunity to buy at “oversold” levels on the final day of what has been a brutal week, month and quarter for markets. What’s happening
The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
-0.38%
rose 50 points, or 0.2%, to 29,277.
The S&P 500
SPX,
-0.05%
climbed 19 points, or 0.5%, to 3,660.
The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
+2.58%
advanced 99 points, or 0.9%, to 10,837.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 458 points, or 1.54%, to 29,226, the S&P 500 declined 79 points, or 2.11%, to 3,640, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 314 points, or 2.84%, to 10,738, as all three benchmarks erased
So far, the S&P 500 has slumped 7.9% during the month of September, 3.8% in the third quarter and is down more than 23% since the start of the year. What’s driving markets In keeping with the historical pattern, U.S. stocks suffered during the month of September as an assertive Federal Reserve helped push Treasury yields and the dollar higher, which in turn undermined equity valuations. See: It’s the worst September for stocks since 2008. What that means for October. But after more than two weeks of nearly non-stop selling, equity bulls are nibbling once again, eager to buy stocks at relatively low valuations, said Eric Diton, president and managing director of the Wealth Alliance. “The market is exhausted on the downside,” Diton said. “Selling has been non-stop for more than two weeks.” As the month drew to a close on Friday, investors digested a reading from the personal consumption expenditure inflation index for August, which showed that core consumer prices climbed by 0.6% last month, more than Wall Street’s forecast of 0.5%. The core inflation measure excludes volatile food and energy prices. See: Cheaper gas holds down inflation, PCE shows, but the cost of everything else is still going up fast The reading largely confirmed similar data from the consumer-price index, another closely watched inflation barometer, which sent stocks lower earlier this month. Since that report was released just over two weeks ago, the S&P 500 has fallen more than 10%. While the inflation report initially sent stocks lower after its release, the market quickly rebounded. According to Diton, investors know inflation is a “work in progress”, but the U.S. economy is …