Ulta Beauty, Salesforce, Paramount Skydance, and more

Major US stock indexes rose on Friday afternoon after headline inflation data came in lower than expected, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve will decide to cut interest rates next week. The Standard & Poor’s 500 and Dow Jones indexes rose about 0.1%, approaching their highest levels ever. The Nasdaq index also rose by 0.1%.

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500, with shares rising about 14% after the cosmetics and fragrance retailer reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its forecasts.

Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) shares were also higher, jumping 11% after the lingerie retailer reported strong earnings and raised its guidance, citing lower promotional costs and higher prices.

Salesforce (CRM) stock rose more than 5%, extending recent gains after the software giant reported better-than-expected earnings on the back of rising sales of its Agentforce AI and Data 360 offerings.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) shares fell nearly 8% after losing a bidding war to buy Warner Bros. films. Discovery (WBD) and streaming properties to Netflix (NFLX). Netflix shares fell 3%, while Warner Bros. shares rose. Discovery by 2%.

WR Berkley (WRB) shares fell 7% after the insurer announced that Japan’s Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance has acquired a 12.5% ​​stake in the company.

Oil and gold futures rose. The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds rose to 4.13%. The US dollar rose against the yen, but lost strength against the euro and the British pound. Most major cryptocurrencies have lost ground.