U.S. stocks rallied on Friday as big tech earnings reports offset inflationary pressures and cryptocurrency volatility was muted

On Friday, U.S. stocks rallied as positive earnings reports from large tech companies offset inflationary pressures. Cryptocurrencies were little changed. The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge showed annual price growth of 2.7% in March, compared with analysts' forecasts of 2.6% growth. The Commerce Department reported Friday that the price index for personal consumption expenditures, which removes food and energy, rose 2.8 percent annually last month.The SP 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were up 1 percent and 2 percent, respectively, in Friday trading. Analysts said big tech stocks were the market's savior as solid earnings reports from Alphabet and Microsoft sent shares up 10 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, had a smoother Friday after a fairly turbulent week. Bitcoin (BTC) was up 0.4% to be quoted at around $63,600, while ethereum (ETH) was down 0.3% to be quoted at $3,100. Traders are looking forward to next week's Federal Reserve interest rate decision, which will be announced on Wednesday.