Stocks posted another day of strong gains Friday, fueled by news of potential progress toward the U.S. and China mending trade relations. Indexes shrugged off an earnings sell-off for Apple and focused instead on a better-than-expected April jobs report on the stock market today.
Stocks slipped from the day's highs in early afternoon action but held on to the bulk of their gains. The indexes peaked after The Wall Street Journal reported China is considering a fentanyl offer to the U.S. to start trade talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up 564 points, or 1.4%. The blue chip index jumped more than 600 points at one point during the session. As it completed its ninth-straight winning session, the 30-stock index flirted with its 50-day moving average.
The S&P 500 added 1.5%, as the benchmark index moved further above its 50-day moving average after closing above it Thursday. It also notched its ninth-consecutive rise.
Meanwhile, the Nasdaq climbed 1.5% after also retaking its 50-day line Thursday. The tech-heavy index pierced the 18,000 watermark earlier in the session. The next hurdle for the major indexes is their longer-term 200-day moving averages.
In the small caps market, the Russell 2000 outperformed the major indexes, climbing 2.3%.
Volume was lower on the Nasdaq and slightly higher on the New York Stock Exchange vs. Thursday. On the Nasdaq exchange, rising stocks topped falling issues by nearly 3-to-1. Gainers on the NYSE beat losers by more than 4-to-1.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield added eight basis points to 4.31%. Oil prices sank and were near $58.55 a barrel. Bitcoin topped the $97,000 level.
3:25 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Spotify In A Buy Zone
IBD SwingTrader holding Spotify Technology soared nearly 8% in heavy volume and into the buy zone up to 652.16 of a double-bottom base with a 621.20 buy point.
Adtalem Global Education jumped nearly 6% and broke out of an irregular base with a 112.44 entry point. The education stock is in the buy range up to 118.06. The MarketSurge Growth 250 name hit an all-time high on the stock market today.
Atlassian gapped down 8% in heavy volume and sank under its 200-day moving average. The drop came after the software maker beat fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts, but gave fiscal fourth-quarter sales guidance below views.
Maplebear surged more than 12% in heavy trading despite missing first-quarter earnings and sales estimates. Investors focused on its 14% increase in orders and 9.7% rise in gross transaction value. Shares reclaimed their 50-day line. The company operates a grocery delivery service under the name Instacart.
2:12 p.m. ET
Warren Buffett Stock Hits A High
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway B shares rose nearly 2% and reached an all-time high as investors awaited the company's annual shareholder meeting Saturday in Omaha. Its high-priced A shares also got a lift of nearly 2%. The stock touched a record high, topping 809,000 per share.
Another name reaching a record high was IBD Big Cap 20 name Netflix. Shares climbed 2% and are on track for 10 straight days of gains.
Stock Market Today: Breakouts
Investor's Business Daily's MarketSurge Breaking Out Today list flagged 10 stocks hitting buy points of bases from varying industries. That is an encouraging sign of broad stock market improvement.
IBD 50 name DoorDash powered up more than 4% and hit the 201.03 buy point of a double-bottom base. The stock is in the 5% buy zone up to 211.08. Shares are on pace for nine straight days of gains.
The food delivery service name is expected to release first-quarter results Wednesday. The stock's relative strength line hit a 52-week high, as shown by the blue dot on the MarketSurge chart.
APi Group climbed more than 5% and broke out of a consolidation pattern with a 41.31 buy point. Shares are in a buy zone up to 43.38. The move came after the company topped first-quarter earnings and revenue projections and raised its full year 2025 sales outlook. It also authorized a new $1 billion share repurchase program.
Amphenol advanced nearly 3% and broke out of a cup base with a 79.39 buy point. Shares are in the buy zone up to 83.36. Amphenol makes connector system solutions and electronic parts used for fiber optics, harsh environments, high-speed interconnectivity and power products. Amphenol was Wednesday's IBD Stock Of The Day.
Market Runs As Two Big Negatives Turn Positive; Palantir, Warren Buffett In Focus
12:40 p.m. ET
Big Name Stock Movers
Winners on the Dow Jones index included Microsoft and Nvidia, up roughly 2% each. Microsoft followed through after gapping up on earnings Thursday. But Nvidia remains on a downtrend after getting turned away at its 50-day moving average Thursday.
For Nvidia to fully break out of its downtrend, it'll need to rally sharply above its downtrending 200-day moving average, currently around 125. It remains to be seen if the artificial intelligence titan will have legs, despite strong earnings reports from Meta Platforms and Microsoft late Wednesday.
Inside the S&P 500, Oracle also outperformed on the stock market today, up more than 4%. But like Nvidia, it's still on a downtrend after a 40% pullback.
Also, Palantir moved closer to an all-time high ahead of its upcoming earnings report.
10:37 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Jobs Report Boosts Indexes
All three major stock indexes strengthened in premarket trading on news the economy created 177,000 jobs in April, above the 130,000 consensus. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, while average hourly earnings rose 3.8% year over year vs. the 3.9% estimate from economists. Sentiment was also positive on reports that China is mulling trade talks with the U.S.
See Which Stocks Are In The Leaderboard Model Portfolio
But investors sold bonds after the employment report, lifting the 10-year yield by nine basis points to 4.32%.
The rally in the 10-year yield comes ahead of next week's Federal Reserve meeting. Analysts expect the Fed to hold the federal funds rate steady in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. President Donald Trump on Friday once again called on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.
Apple slumped about 4% despite better-than-expected earnings and iPhone revenue. Investors focused instead on comments from Chief Executive Tim Cook, who said the company expects tariffs to add $900 million in costs for the June-ended quarter.
Amazon Wavers On Earnings
Earnings from Amazon.com were also in focus, with shares turning higher to rise more than 1%. Bottom-line and top-line quarterly growth came in better than expected. But the Amazon Web Services cloud business grew 17% to $29.3 billion, a tad below the $29.45 billion estimate from analysts.
In earnings news, Duolingo continued its torrid ascent after the popular language learning app reported first-quarter revenue of $230.7 million, up 38% year over year. After soaring 17% last week, shares surged nearly 20% more this week. Duolingo gapped out of an 11-week cup base that's still early stage, but the stock has quickly become extended.
Besides Duolingo, the MarketSurge Growth 250 served up several other breakouts among leading growth stocks. Kratos Defense & Security shot up more than 5% and cleared a 14-week consolidation ahead of next week's earnings report.
Also, the aerospace and defense sector is filled with stock market leaders at this point, including Leaderboard stocks Loar and aerospace and defense supplier Carpenter Technology.
Follow Ken Shreve on X @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
And follow Kimberley Koenig for more stock market news on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @IBD_KKoenig.
