The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes closed the day much as they started Friday – mixed – as investors were uncertain about an inflation survey released in the morning. Meanwhile, Palantir Technologies rose while Opendoor Technologies tumbled, and cryptocurrency player Gemini Space Station started trading on the stock market today.
Blue chips on the Dow dropped 0.6%, or 274 points, after closing at a record high Thursday and ending above the 46,000 level for the first time. The 30-stock index fell back below that threshold. The S&P 500 ended down less than 0.1%, three points to be exact, but held firmly above 6,500.
Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite far outpaced the other major indexes. It advanced 0.4% and closed at another record high, well above the 22,000 mark. Small caps were the laggards by far, and the Russell 2000 fell 1%.
Volume was lower on the Nasdaq exchange as well as the New York Stock Exchange compared with Thursday, in preliminary numbers. On the Nasdaq exchange, falling issues outnumbered rising ones by around 7-to-4. And on the NYSE, losers topped winners by nearly 2-to-1.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose five basis points to 4.06%. Oil prices moved up to nearly $62.50 a barrel but pared a stronger increase.
Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust added 0.4%. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF closed fractionally lower Friday.
Tech Stock Movers: Palantir Leaps This Week
Palantir Technologies closed Friday's session with a 4.3% gain and a 12% increase for the week.
Dow stock Nvidia wasn't as lucky, showing a more modest 0.4% daily increase and a weekly 6.5% rise.
Another Dow component, Apple, notched a 1.8% gain Friday. But the stock had a rough week, dropping 2.3% following its iPhone and new product event on Tuesday.
Outside of the Dow, Gemini Space Station closed its first day of trading at 32 after opening at 37.01. The crypto exchange's initial public offering was priced at 28.
3:36 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Opendoor Gives Up Gains
On Friday, Opendoor Technologies gave back more than 12% of Thursday's monstrous 79.5% gain. Thursday's explosive move came following news it plucked Shopify Chief Operating Officer Kaz Nejatian, to be its new chief executive. Opendoor also reappointed cofounders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu to the board.
Opendoor stock saw more than 1 billion shares change hands in Thursday's surge, and more than 428 million shares on Friday.
Shopify pulled back 1.1% on the stock market today after climbing 2% Thursday. The stock is in an early-stage flat base with a 156.85 buy point. Shares are finding support at their 21-day exponential moving average.
Market At Highs With Fed Due; Nvidia, Meta Eye Buy Points
2:42 p.m. ET
This Quantum Name Soars On Approval
IonQ surged more than 17% in heavy volume after the quantum computing company announced it got the green light from the UK's Investment Security Unit for its acquisition of Oxford Ionics. IonQ will pony up more than $1 billion for Oxford Ionics.
Meanwhile, Gemini Space Station started trading around 1:40 p.m. ET at 37.01 per share after initially being priced at 28 per share. The stock was temporarily halted at 40.71 after a circuit breaker to the upside kicked in.
Shares traded around the 34 level in recent action.
1:25 p.m. ET
Warner Bros. Tops S&P 500
Warner Bros. Discovery popped more than 16% in heavy volume, following Thursday's 29% spike. The move comes following Thursday's news that Paramount Skydance is looking to buy the media and entertainment provider in a mostly cash deal.
The transaction is backed by the Ellison family, including David, chief executive of Paramount Skydance and son of billionaire Larry Ellison.
Warner Bros. stock reached a level not seen since May 2022. Shares are extended after topping a 25% profit zone from the 13.87 buy point of a consolidation. The stock has climbed around 74% so far this year and was the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 Friday.
Meanwhile, Paramount Skydance bolted 4.1% higher Friday in heavy trading on the news. The stock hit a price not seen since May 2023. Similarly to Warner Bros., shares have rallied around 74% year to date.
Elsewhere, Oracle gave back another 5%, adding to Thursday's 6.2% drop. Shares rallied nearly 36% on Wednesday following the company's fiscal first-quarter report where it gave an upbeat outlook on its cloud business.
11:49 a.m. ET
Aluminum Name Breaks Out, Then Fades
Century Aluminum trimmed larger morning gains to 1.2% after the stock broke out of a deep consolidation pattern with a 25.39 buy point. Shares retraced below the buy point.
Yet, Century is on pace for four straight days of gains, which began after B. Riley raised its price target to 28 from 25 and held its buy rating on the stock on Tuesday.
Its relative strength line hit a 52-week high as shown by the blue dot on its weekly MarketSurge chart.
Adobe gave back gains and eased 0.3% despite topping fiscal third-quarter earnings and sales forecasts. It also offered an outlook that was slightly above views for its fiscal fourth quarter and raised its fiscal 2025 profit and sales estimates, both above projections.
But the stock has lagged as seen in its dismal 9 IBD Relative Strength Rating and 21% loss year to date.
RH slashed a larger morning loss to around 3.7% in heavy volume, after the upscale furniture and home products retailer missed fiscal second-quarter profit and sales estimates. It also gave a fiscal third-quarter sales estimate below views and lowered its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook, which came up short of forecasts. Its shares have lost 44% so far this year.
10:40 a.m. ET
Tesla Stock Races Higher
Tesla stock rallied more than 6% Friday morning, moving further above a 367.71 buy point. Shares are on pace to extend their winning streak to four sessions.
Tesla reports third-quarter global vehicle deliveries in early October and Q3 earnings on Oct. 21. Analyst consensus has global Tesla third-quarter vehicle deliveries coming in around 432,000, according to FactSet.
That would be about 13% above the second quarter total but still down more than 6% vs. the year-earlier period. Few analysts have updated third-quarter delivery targets since late July, however.
Stock Market Today: Inflation Survey
Just after the market open, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment reading fell more than expected, to 55.4. The index was expected to edge lower from 58.2 in August to 58.0 in the first report for September.
Meanwhile, one-year inflation expectations were up 4.8%, meeting estimates. And five- to 10-year inflation expectations were up 3.9%, above the 3.4% estimate.
9:53 a.m. ET
Nasdaq-100 Winners, Losers: Micron, Tesla, Arm, MercadoLibre
Among the Nasdaq-100 index stocks, Micron Technology and Tesla rallied 2.4% and 1.5%, respectively, making them some of the best performers at the market open.
Meanwhile, Arm and MercadoLibre declined 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively. Arm stock is still close to a 166.88 double-bottom entry, while MercadoLibre continues to trade below its 50-day moving average.
9:06 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Movers: Apple, Boeing, Cisco, Microsoft, UnitedHealth
Inside the blue chip index, Boeing, Microsoft and UnitedHealth Group were among the top performers. Boeing shares climbed 0.6%, trying to rebound from a 3.3% sell-off Thursday. Microsoft stock climbed 1.2%, looking to extend a winning streak to five sessions. And UnitedHealth gained 0.8%, back at its highest level since May 12.
On the downside, Apple and Cisco Systems traded down 0.4% and 3%, respectively. Apple stock remains below a recent 235.12 buy trigger. And Cisco is trying to regain its 50-day moving average line.
8:11 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Gemini IPO To Debut
Gemini raised $425 million in its initial public offering Thursday night, selling fewer-than-expected shares but above the recently raised price range. The company is set to become the third public crypto exchange, along with Coinbase Global and Bullish, which debuted last month.
Gemini sold 15.2 million shares at 28 Thursday. On Wednesday, the crypto exchange said it planned to offer 16.67 million shares at 24 to 26 per share. That raised the price range from 17 to 19 per share.
Gemini will trade on the Nasdaq starting Friday under the ticker symbol GEMI.
Adobe Rallies On Earnings
Adobe stock rallied 3% Friday premarket after the company beat expectations for its fiscal third quarter and offered a forecast slightly above views for the current period.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company earned an adjusted $5.31 a share on sales of $5.99 billion in the quarter ended Aug. 29. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $5.18 a share on sales of $5.92 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Adobe earnings increased 14% while sales rose 11%.
Stock Market Today: Inflation Survey
Due at 10 a.m. ET is the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment reading. The index is expected to edge lower from 58.2 in August to 58.0 in the first report for September. Also included in the survey are inflation expectations. One-year inflation expectations were up 4.8% in August.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the stock market today.
