By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com – The S&P 500 rallied Friday, as blowout quarterly results from Apple put tech back into the driving seat following a recent rout amid jitters about a faster pace of U.S. Fed rate hikes. 

The Nasdaq gained 1.6% or 189 points while the Dow rose 1.1%.

Apple (NASDAQ:) rose more than 5% after reporting quarterly results that topped analysts’ estimates following better-than-expected iPhone sales despite a drag from supply-chain issues.

According to the tech giant, supply chain problems will improve in future. That should boost sentiment for tech stocks.

“[Tim] Cook is calling out some supply chain improvement for the March quarter which are ‘calming words heard around the tech world’ and much needed good news in what has been a market storm to start 2022,” Wedbush said in a note.

Facebook (NASDAQ:), Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Amazon (NASDAQ:),  and Microsoft  (NASDAQ:) were more than 1% higher.

Tech was helped not only by bullish earnings but also by falling U.S. bond yields after economic data showed that inflation is still gaining steam in a period when consumers have reacted to it.

Declined 0.6%, the most significant monthly drop since February. However, the main reason for the slowdown was the impact of the micron version.

“Spending was hit hard by a combination of the Omicron hit to discretionary services and people’s willingness to visit malls, alongside a void left by earlier-than-usual holiday shopping, triggered by fears of shortages of popular items,” according to Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Since 1983, core personal consumption expenses price index rose at 4.9%.

Also, Visa (NYSE.) gained a lot on this day after posting fiscal first-quarter earnings. These figures were higher than Wall Street’s estimates. This was due to stronger cross-border payments volumes that helped increase growth.

“After sentiment shifted away from established payment companies, Visa’s relative valuation/growth presents a significant buying opportunity for investors focused on sustainable growth,” Oppenheimer said in a note.

Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ) However, the company provided disappointing guidance regarding revenue for the fiscal first-quarter. Users fell in the quarter but shares of the trading platform offset losses and traded over 4% higher.  

The rally was not a success with energy, which suffered from a greater than 3% drop in its price. Chevron (NYSE:), after oil giant reported quarter-end results that fell short of the bottom line.

Caterpillar (NYSE): A Dow indicator bellwether was also experiencing losses above 5%. The better-than expected quarterly results were overshadowed and impacted by falling margins. Supply-chain problems drove up prices.