Wall Street opens March higher

US stock indices rose on Friday, with NASDAQ heading for a new record high following strong gains in February.

Recent data showed US personal spending rose 0.3% in January m/m, and 2.4% y/y, slowing down slightly from December.

Core spending rose 0.4% m/m in January, and 2.8% y/y, also slowing from December.

Such data showed that inflation is ever so slightly losing steam in accordance with Fed’s plans. 

Now investors are assessing the impact of the data on the Federal Reserve’s future policy decisions. 

Dow Jones rose 0.1%, or 7 points as of 15:32 GMT to 39,003, while S&P 500 rose 0.2%, or 12 points to 5108, as NASDAQ added 0.3%, or 52 points to 16,144.