Stocks notched their fourth straight monthly advance as data signaling prospects for a sustained rebound of the world’s largest economy outweighed inflation worries. The dollar was little changed.

The S&P 500 ended the week near a record, while the Russell 2000 of small caps posted its eighth consecutive month of gains -- the longest run since 1995. Traders focused on the outlook for higher spending that could boost growth, even after the personal consumption expenditures core-price gauge rose the most in two decades. The perception that the latest figures won’t be enough to prompt any change in policy by Federal Reserve officials also helped sentiment.

Inflation has certainly been a contentious topic for investors and economists alike, with some arguing that price increases are temporary and others anxious about elevated costs in the longer-term. President Joe Biden issued his first full budget proposal, detailing his ambitions to expand the size and scope of the federal government with more than US$6 trillion in spending over the coming fiscal year.

“Stocks continue to rise since the U.S. economic growth ‘exceptionalism story’ does not appear to be going away anytime soon, and as inflation still looks like it will be transitory,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda Corp., wrote in a note to clients.

For Michael Shaoul, chief executive officer at Marketfield Asset Management, the latest figures may indeed be just a “flash in the pan,” with a return to more normal conditions in a few quarters.

“Although we are willing to admit that there are some unusual and potentially temporary factors at play in the report, it needs to also be understood that their cumulative impact has been much stronger than conventional analysis has anticipated,” he added.

Some corporate highlights:

• AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. whipsawed after the movie-theater company more than doubled this week.
• Boeing Co. fell after halting deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner just two months after restarting them.
• Coinbase Global Inc. paced a rout in cryptocurrency-exposed shares as Bitcoin extended its monthly slide.

These are some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose about 0.1 per cent as of 4 p.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.2 per cent
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 per cent
• The MSCI World index rose 0.3 per cent

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.
• The euro was little changed at US$1.2190
• The British pound fell 0.1 per cent to US$1.4188
• The Japanese yen was little changed at 109.87 per dollar

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 1.59 per cent
• Germany’s 10-year yield declined one basis point to -0.18 per cent
• Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 0.79 per cent

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3 per cent to US$67 a barrel
• Gold futures rose 0.4 per cent to US$1,906 an ounce