"February Inflation Data Impacts Stock Market: S&P 500 and Dow Jones Rise"
The Federal Reserve's key inflation rate showed price pressures were tamer than expected in February, as consumer spending softened. The overall personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index rose 0.3% on the month and 5% from a year ago, easing from a downwardly revised 5.3% in January. The S&P 500 opened about 0.3% higher in early Friday stock market action.