US Equity Indexes Advance This Week as Fed's Preferred Measure of Inflation Meets Expectations

US equity indexes rose this week amid a flood of quarterly earnings and as the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation in March met market expectations.

* The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 38,239.66 on Friday, up from 37,986.40 a week ago. The S&P 500 closed at 5,099.66, advancing from 4,967.23, and the Nasdaq ended at 15,927.90 compared with 15,282.01 a week prior.

* The personal consumption expenditures price index for March rose 0.3%, in line with expectations, lifting the year-over-year rate to 2.7% from 2.5% reported in February. The core PCE price index also increased 0.3%, in line with forecasts. The year-over-year rate remained at 2.8%, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis Friday.

* Technology and communication services were the top gainers for the week.

* According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tracker, the probability of the Federal Reserve remaining on hold in July was 70% late on Friday versus 68% a day ago. The likelihood of the Fed extending the pause again in September was 42%, unchanged from a day earlier.

* Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) jumped 10% intraday, the highest return on the Nasdaq, after the owner of the Google search engine reported a surge in Q1 earnings and revenue. The company said its board approved its quarterly cash dividend

program and buyback of up to $70 billion in additional shares.

* Microsoft (MSFT) reported Q3 net income and revenue above market expectations. Shares jumped 3.1%, the top gainer on the Dow.