Major indexes ended trading mostly down Friday amid volume gains for both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, with options and futures contracts set to expire.
On the stock market today, traders felt the impacts of the conflict in Iran, a possibility for interest rate cuts and reports that President Donald Trump's administration is considering a crackdown on chipmaking technology exported to China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average failed to retain the bulk of its earlier gains but managed to tiptoe into positive territory at market close. It fared the best of all the indexes, though, as the S&P 500 lost 0.2%. Its hold on a psychologically important level of 6,000 proved feeble again as the benchmark index closed further below it Friday.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.5%. And small caps in the Russell 2000 notched a 0.2% loss.
Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust fell 0.4%, while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF slipped 0.2%. Outperformance was seen, however, in the Innovator IBD 50 ETF, which rose 1%.
Volume ran higher on both exchanges as options and futures contracts are set to expire on what is commonly known as triple-witching Friday. Slightly more decliners showed up on the New York Stock Exchange whereas losers dictated the trades on the Nasdaq by roughly 4-to-3.
3:39 p.m. ET
Tesla Edges Lower On China Deal
Tesla edged lower even though the electric-vehicle maker inked its first deal to build a grid-scale battery power plant in China, CNBC reported. The deal comes just ahead of the 90-day reciprocal tariff pause expiration date on July 9.
Tesla said that the $556 million deal will be the largest of its kind in China when it is finished. The company also said its Shanghai factory had produced more than 100 megapacks in the first quarter. Megapacks are utility-scale batteries that store energy and can stabilize the grid and prevent outages.
Tesla stock faces some resistance at its 21-day moving average as it heads into its robotaxi event, scheduled for Sunday.
Elsewhere, President Trump has now delayed the deadline for banning China's TikTok in the U.S. for the third time, now stretching that cutoff to Sept. 17.
2:02 p.m. ET
Amazon Falls Amid UK Probe
Dow Jones stock Amazon fell more than 1% amid a U.K. government investigation for a possible violation of a clause in its Groceries Supply Code of Practice, which requires timely payments to groceries suppliers. Shares are poised to test the 21-day moving average and remained in a cup-with-handle base with a buy point of 214.84.
Among other Dow components, McDonald's extended losses and undercut a 15-week flat base with a 1% drop.
Accenture fell after its third-quarter report Friday. Sales grew 8% to $7.7 billion while earnings increased 12% from the prior year to $3.49 per share. New bookings fell 6% to $19.7 billion. Shares had retaken a downward sloping 50-day moving average heading into earnings but plummeted 7% below it after the report's release.
Smith & Wesson plummeted more than 19% on earnings and undercut all its major moving averages. Sales declined for the second continuous quarter to $140.8 million while earnings also slowed with 20 cents in earnings per share vs. 48 cents in the prior year.
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12:17 p.m. ET
Nasdaq Hit By Threats To Chip-Gear Makers
The Nasdaq composite first tumbled Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported the Trump administration is targeting allies' ability to ship American chipmaking equipment to China.
Selling started to pick up the pace on the Nasdaq just after 9:45 a.m. ET, sending the tech-heavy index to an intraday loss of 0.8%. The index recovered somewhat and in afternoon action, posted a 0.4% loss.
Nvidia lagged on the Dow Jones index with a loss of around 1.1%. The VanEck Semiconductor exchange traded fund pared some losses but was still down 1.1%.
Several other semiconductor stocks lagged badly in the Nasdaq 100, including chip-equipment firms like Lam Research, KLA and Applied Materials, all of which were down more than 2% each.
Elsewhere, Kroger shares jumped more than 9% after the grocery chain lifted its full-year revenue outlook.
11:15 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Apple Gains, Amazon Slips
Among Dow stocks, Apple led the index at one point, but came off session highs in morning trades. Amazon.com lagged in the blue-chip index with a loss of 1.1%. Now Amazon looks poised for a test of its 21-day line after the stock recently tried to clear a 214.84 handle buy point.
In recent action, Travelers led blue chips with a 1.3% gain. American Express tacked on 0.5%, with the stock in position for a breakout try over the 300 level.
Home Depot added 0.6% after reports said the company made an offer to acquire building-products distributor GMS. Earlier in the week, QXO bid around $5 billion for GMS, valuing the company at 92.50 a share.
AMD, Circle Extend Gains
Inside the Nasdaq 100, Advanced Micro Devices ticked up another 1%. The artificial intelligence chipmaker has been in rally mode after reclaiming its 200-day moving average exactly one week ago.
Recent initial public offering Circle Internet soared nearly 11% more after jumping more than 30% Wednesday. The catalyst earlier in the week was the Senate's passage of the Genius Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for stablecoins, another form of cryptocurrency.
Circle went public on June 5 at 31, opened at 69 and closed at 83.23 on its first day of trading. Circle Internet is a legitimate growth story, but it's risky chasing the stock at current levels. The hot new issue will pause at some point and digest gains. When this happens, a more palatable entry will likely be seen. Keep an eye out for an IPO base.
Coinbase added another 1.5% after jumping 16% Wednesday.
CoreWeave, another top-performing new issue, rose nearly 4% more and hit an all-time high. The company rents out cloud access for AI development and training.
Inside the MarketSurge Growth 250, Sportradar jumped more than 3% and cleared a shallow base with a 25.85 buy point.
9:50 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Fed Governor Calls For Rate Cuts
Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller told CNBC that inflation was tame enough to allow the Fed to cut interest rates at its next meeting in July. But he was unsure other Fed governors would agree.
"That would be my view, whether the committee would go along with it or not," CNBC quoted Waller as saying. Waller is an appointee of President Donald Trump, who has demanded the Fed cut interest rates in recent months.
Waller's view contrasts with that of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who said Wednesday there was no rush to cut rates. Speaking after the Fed's meeting this week, Powell said it could afford to wait to see how Trump's tariffs will impact the economy.
8:46 a.m. ET
Tesla Rallies On Robotaxi; Factory Data Flat
Tesla stock rallied nearly 2% Friday after the company sent out invites to Sunday's robotaxi launch event in Austin, Texas. Notably, the "unsupervised" robotaxis will have a Tesla employee in the passenger seat, presumably ready to step in if needed.
Early Friday, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index failed to improve as expected. June's reading measured minus 4, unchanged from May. It was expected to improve to minus 1.
8:10 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Iran News, Earnings Movers
Early Friday, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that the nation is ready to discuss limitations on its uranium enrichment. Futures reversed higher on the reports.
On Thursday afternoon, President Trump, in a statement read by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, said he will "make my decision" on an Iran attack "within the next two weeks," citing a "substantial chance of negotiations."
That suggests that Trump is looking for an Iran nuclear deal, even as he's publicly thought about joining Israel's attacks. He also may be hoping Israel can take out Iran's most-protected nuclear sites without U.S. involvement.
Due out at 8:30 a.m. ET is the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index. The index is expected to improve to minus 1 in June from minus 4 in May to show manufacturing activity was basically flat from May.
Elsewhere, key earnings movers Friday include CarMax, Darden Restaurants and Kroger. CarMax stock jumped nearly 11%, while shares of Darden rallied more than 4%. Kroger stock dipped 0.2% in premarket trading.
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Dow Jones Leader JPMorgan Above Buy Point
Elsewhere, Dow Jones banking giant JPMorgan Chase is in a 5% buy zone past a 269.52 buy point in a handle entry in recent sessions, MarketSurge chart analysis shows. Shares edged lower in premarket trading Friday.
Meanwhile, financial leader Cboe Global Markets is approaching a 236.02 entry in a flat base. Cboe stock lost 1.1% in premarket trades Friday.
Finally, Nvidia is rapidly nearing a 153.13 entry in a cup base that started forming in early January. Nvidia stock dipped 0.1% in early action Friday.
The ongoing stock market uptrend provides a bullish setting for raising exposure, but investors still need to watch for volatility. Investors should buy stocks with a 21-day average true range, or ATR, of up to 8%. But they should be wary of being too concentrated in high-octane names.
Check out IBD MarketSurge's "Breaking Out Today" list for top growth stocks that are moving above correct buy points. Investors also can find potential breakouts on the "Near Pivot" list. Further, to find additional stock ideas, check IBD Stock Lists like IBD 50, Big Cap 20 and Stocks Near A Buy Zone.
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