Selling gained momentum right into the close on the Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major indexes Friday. The sell-off began after President Donald Trump threatened to impose a "massive increase" in tariffs on Chinese goods. Tech giants were among those not spared in the sell-off on the stock market today.
The Dow sank by nearly 879 points, or 1.9%, and fell below the 46,000 level, retreating sharply from morning gains. The S&P 500 closed 2.7% lower. The Nasdaq composite was hit the hardest by far of the major indexes with a 3.6% drop. All three undercut their 21-day exponential moving averages amid the sell-off, with the Dow pulling back to its 50-day moving average.
Small-cap stocks also got trampled on, with the Russell 2000 index sinking 3%.
Trump in a Truth Social post threatened the mass tariff increase because of export controls that China wants to impose on rare earth materials. Rare earth minerals are crucial in industries including computer hardware, automotive and health care. They are used in products including smartphones, hard drives, cameras, electric vehicle batteries, and in magnets used by MRI machines.
Trump also threatened to cancel an upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the dispute.
Volume was higher on the Nasdaq exchange and considerably higher on the New York Stock Exchange compared with Thursday, in preliminary numbers. On both exchanges, falling stocks outnumbered rising issues around 5-to-1.
The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 4.07%. Oil prices fell more than 4% to around $58.85 a barrel. Bitcoin reversed lower, trading around $117,000.
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Synopsys plunged more than 9% and was the biggest loser on the S&P 500 Friday. The company announced it received approval to sell its Optical Solutions Group and PowerArtist businesses to Keysight Technologies. Synopsys fell further below its 200-day line.
Keysight stock plummeted nearly 7% on the news. Shares knifed below their 50-day and 200-day lines, triggering a sell signal.
3:57 p.m. ET
Big Tech Names Feel Pain
Dow tech stocks also took it on the chin, with Amazon.com falling nearly 5%, Apple sinking more than 3% and Nvidia losing nearly 4%.
Amazon undercut its 50-day moving average while Apple fell below its 21-day line.
Outside of the Dow, Tesla skidded more than 5% and also undercut its 21-day line.
Elsewhere, Mosaic tumbled more than 9% in heavy volume, after the fertilizer and chemicals company gave preliminary third-quarter phosphate production numbers that came in below expectations. The company said the shortfall was due to unexpected mechanical issues at a sulfuric acid plant in September.
Shares are on pace for three straight days of losses and have plunged below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The steep drop below the 50-day line triggered a sell signal.
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2:35 p.m. ET
Biotech Soars On Potential Deal News
Dow name Johnson & Johnson is in talks to acquire Protagonist Therapeutics, according to The Wall Street Journal. The pair already have a partnership collaborating on oral treatments for conditions including plaque psoriasis and ulcerative colitis. The details of the deal were not disclosed.
Protagonist shares rocketed nearly 32% in huge volume to an all-time high Friday. Trading on the stock was temporarily suspended after a spike triggered a volatility halt.
Shares are far extended from the 25% profit zone of a 57.73 buy point of a cup-with-handle base.
Johnson & Johnson stock eased slightly on the news. This follows its Thursday move to a record high of 192.10. The blue chip stock is extended from the buy zone of a flat base with a 181.16 buy point.
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1:05 p.m. ET
Rare Earth Names Jump: MP Materials Hits Buy Point
MP Materials soared more than 13% and broke out of a late stage cup-with-handle base with a 82.23 buy point. Shares trimmed a larger earlier gain and faded below the entry.
The stock hit an all-time high on the stock market today before easing. Its relative strength line reached a 52-week high, as shown by the blue dot on its chart.
USA Rare Earth soared around 13% in heavy volume and also reached a record high Friday. Shares are well extended after breaking out of a cup base with a 19.68 buy point on Oct 2. Shares are on pace for five straight weeks of gains.
11:31 a.m. ET
Stocks That Are Falling
Nvidia gave back early gains and dropped more than 2% on the Dow.
Big losers in the Nasdaq 100 included Advanced Micro Devices, which plunged nearly 7%. Shopify dropped more than 5% and Qualcomm sank nearly 5%.
One of the few bright spots was PepsiCo, which held a strong gain of nearly 4% in the S&P 500, as Wall Street cheered a solid earnings report.
10:36 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: AI Stocks Rule The Roost
In a quiet week of economic data and earnings reports, attention stayed on artificial intelligence stocks in early market trading, helped by a strong earnings report from data center operator Applied Digital. The stock continued its torrid ascent, rising 25% in recent action, after reporting an 84% increase in revenue to $64.2 million.
CoreWeave, a partner of Applied Digital, rallied more than 4%. It was a strong technical move for CoreWeave because the stock cleared Monday's high of 144.33. It still has potential resistance to overcome near 149. CoreWeave, a big buyer of Nvidia chips, rents out cloud access for AI development and training.
Vertiv surged more than 6% in the early going. A recent breakout from a cup-with-handle base continues to strengthen amid strong demand for the company's thermal management and cooling services to data centers.
Vertiv joined Leaderboard on Oct. 1 when it was breaking out of a cup-with-handle base. It's one of several AI adjacent stocks in the model portfolio, along with Emcor and Quanta Services.
Several growth stocks outperformed, helping lift the Innovator IBD 50 ETF to an early gain of 0.4%. Top gainers in the IBD 50 index of leading growth stocks included Rocket Lab, up nearly 7%.
9:54 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: AI Stocks Shine
Artificial intelligence data center play Applied Digital surged after crushing views, lifting partner CoreWeave and taking fellow AI data center firms Nebius and Iren along for the ride on the stock market today.
Elsewhere, Qualcomm fell slightly after China opened an antitrust probe into the wireless chip giant, following a similar move vs. Nvidia last month.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell five basis points to 4.1%. Crude oil prices declined 2% to about $60.30 a barrel, as the Gaza cease-fire eases Mideast tensions.
9:43 a.m. ET
Early Movers
Here's where select stocks stood after Friday's open.
Applied Digital soared 26% on the AI data center's blowout earnings.
Oracle climbed more than 1%, right at a trendline entry around 300.
Doximity fell 3% but held a 69.80 cup-with-handle buy point. JPMorgan downgraded the medical digital platform to underweight, citing valuation concerns.
Levi Strauss tumbled nearly 9%, threatening to undercut a 22.35 cup-base buy point. The apparel maker beat fiscal third-quarter views, but cut its outlook for the current fourth quarter.
9:12 a.m. ET
Fed Gov. Waller Backs 'Cautious' Rate Cuts
Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller, who has become a leading dove on the central bank, told CNBC's Squawk Box Friday that he favors more rate cuts, but policymakers need to be "cautious about it."
That signals that Waller does not favor huge interest cuts, as called for by President Donald Trump.
Waller is one of five remaining candidates to be Trump's pick to be Fed chairman, CNBC reported, citing Treasury sources.
Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman also is on the short list, along with Kevin Hassett, director of Trump's National Economic Council. Former Fed Gov. Kevin Warsh and BlackRock Fixed Income Chief Investment Officer Rick Rieder also are in the running.
Fed chief Jerome Powell's term ends in May.
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8:40 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Tech Giants Near Buy Points
Broadcom, Oracle and Palantir Technologies are all right at early entries or buy points.
Broadcom stock rose nearly 1%, on pace to surpass a 347.61 early entry in an emerging consolidation at the open.
Oracle stock climbed nearly 2% in premarket trade. That would push the tech giant above a trendline entry, with 300 as a possible trigger. Shares have rebounded strongly from a Tuesday intraday tumble.
Palantir stock was flat but near a 185.75 cup-with-handle buy point. Last Friday, shares tumbled 7.5%, triggering a sell signal, but the data analytics software stock has bounced back.
8:20 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Applied Digital Surges
Applied Digital vaulted nearly 28% early Friday. Shares have already rallied 283% in 2025 as of Thursday, greatly extended from a 15.42 buy point only decisively cleared a month ago. Late Thursday, Applied Digital reported a surprise profit with revenue up 84% to $64.2 million, far above analyst projections.
Applied Digital builds and leases AI data centers to cloud-computing provider CoreWeave, which is backed by Nvidia. CoreWeave stock rose 2% near 146. Investors also could use Monday's high of 144.33 as an entry.
Nebius stock rose more than 2% before the open, after a strong rebound from the 10-day line this week.
Iren rallied more than 6% in premarket trade. The bitcoin miner turned data center play is becoming increasingly extended from all its moving averages.
Nvidia, whose chips power so many AI data centers, edged higher early Friday, near the top of a buy zone.
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China Opens Antitrust Probe Vs. Qualcomm
Qualcomm stock fell 1% before the open. Shares had forged a three-weeks-tight pattern at eight-month highs, but its relative strength line has been sliding since May 2024.
Chinese regulators plan to investigate Qualcomm's purchase of Israeli firm Autotalks, which closed in June after being announced two years earlier. Last month, China accused Nvidia of violating anti-monopoly laws related to its 2020 acquisition of Mellanox.
On Wednesday, China announced tighter restrictions on rare earths exports and technology, as well as exports of key electric vehicle battery components.
Remember that premarket action in Dow futures and elsewhere doesn't necessarily translate into actual trading in the next regular stock market session.
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