Major indexes finished mixed Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and small-cap stocks emerging as the session's strongest areas. A leading chip equipment maker fell on a sales warning, and Palantir tumbled on the stock market today following a report the U.S. Army has raised security concerns about a communications system prototype.
The Dow scored another record close. Blue chips ended up 0.5%, rising 238 points. The Russell 2000 index of small caps jumped 0.9%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose less than one point – enough to score a record high. The Nasdaq fell into the red and lost 0.3%.
For the week, the Dow gained 1.1% as the final quarter of the year began. The S&P 500 advanced 1.1%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The Nasdaq composite logged a 1.3% weekly increase. But those moves lagged weekly gains for small caps as the Russell 2000 surged 1.7%.
The week wrapped up without the release of the September U.S. jobs report because of the government shutdown but some economic reports from private agencies trickled in.
On Friday, volume on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq was higher compared with the same time on Thursday. Advancers beat decliners by more than 3-to-2 on the NYSE and on the Nasdaq.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.12%. Crude oil rose to $60.81 a barrel.
Palantir Falls
Palantir dropped 7.5% following a Reuters report that the U.S. Army has identified "fundamental security" problems with a communication systems network being developed by Palantir and defense company Anduril.
Palantir rebutted the Army's claim, according to a Bloomberg report. The software maker said the Army has said system problems were "mitigated immediately," and that "no vulnerabilities were found in the Palantir platform."
Shares of Palantir fell out of a buy zone with a cup-with-handle entry of 185.75.
Market At Highs, AI Chip Giant In Buy Zone; Palantir, Tesla Skid
2:59 p.m. ET
Applied Materials Issues Warning
Applied Materials fell more than 2% after the chip equipment maker warned that a curb on exports to China could dent its fiscal 2026 revenue by $600 million. The Commerce Department on Monday issued expanded restrictions on exports to companies on its "Entity List."
The stock's relative strength line has fallen but shares are headed for a fifth week of gains and remain extended.
The government's restrictions now extend to subsidiaries that are able to circumvent export restrictions on chip equipment and other goods to China. Applied Materials also sees the restrictions hurting fourth-quarter sales by $110 billion, it said in a securities filing Thursday.
2 p.m. ET
Quantum Stocks Soar; Casinos Plunge
Quantum computing stocks jumped again Friday. Rigetti Computing rose nearly 7% amid a four-day winning streak. The stock is headed for weekly winnings of more than 20%.
D-Wave Quantum's gains were more than 9%, with a weekly surge at more than 18%.
Meanwhile, casino operators fell. Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts plunged after signs of weak holiday travel in China. Las Vegas Sands plunged 7% while Wynn dropped 5%.
Citi analysts noted that "overall passenger throughput volume during first two days could be below some investors' expectations, which we partially attribute to more people starting their travel earlier this year," Barron's reported.
China's Macao region is one of the largest gambling hubs in the world. Las Vegas Sands undercut its 50-day moving average in heavy volume – triggering a sell signal. Wynn Resorts retreated from its 20% profit zone with a buy point at 110.38.
Elsewhere, Rumble soared more than 12% and cleared its 50-day moving average. The video-sharing site will introduce an artificial intelligence-powered search engine through its partnership with Perplexity.
12:59 p.m. ET
Economic Reports Mixed; Berkshire Shuffles Executives
A few economic reports were released as scheduled Friday. The IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers Composite Index came in at 53.9 for September after August's 54.6. The services index rose more than expected to 54.2. Economists had targeted 53.9 after 54.5 in August.
The Institute of Supply Management's services Index didn't meet views of 51.6 and fell to 50 for September after August's 52.
Elsewhere, Berkshire Hathaway rose after the company said it had voted to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive, CNBC reported. Warren Buffett will continue as chairman while Greg Abel will step up as CEO.
Abel plans to succeed Buffett in the CEO post at year's end. Berkshire earlier announced that it was acquiring OxyCheck from Occidental Petroleum. The all-cash transaction amounts to $9.7 billion.
Rising 1% in afternoon trades, shares of Berkshire are in a long consolidation with a buy point of 542.07. Occidental stock was up more than 1%.
12:15 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Lumentum Falls
Lumentum was one of several AI-related stocks hit hard. Shares slumped more than 4%, but the stock is still near highs and holding above its 21-day exponential moving average. Lumentum's optical and photonic components are used for high-speed data transmission found in AI data centers.
Former stock market leader Roblox slumped 5.5% and gave a sell signal by gapping below its 50-day line. Sentiment was negative after an analyst raised concerns about slowing growth in the company's core markets.
In the oil-and-gas sector, Flotek Industries continued to climb the right side of a cup base. After rising 12.5% last week, the stock is up another 9% this week and less than 6% off its high. The oil field services stock has a rock-solid Composite Rating of 97.
Among recent initial public offerings, Heartflow surged 6% and broke out of an IPO base. The company operates a platform for diagnosing and managing coronary artery disease. The stock priced at 19 and closed at 28.75 on its first day of trading. Shares were recently trading around 38.
11:02 a.m. ET
Movers And Shakers: Shopify, Celestica, Palantir
Shopify jumped to a new high after a recent test of its 50-day moving average. Shopify also was a strong gainer in the MarketSurge Growth 250, as it surged more than 5%.
Meanwhile, several artificial intelligence stocks came under selling pressure. Celestica, which is in a new growth phase due to strong demand for AI hardware, slumped nearly 3%, while Palantir Technologies was down more than 4%. Palantir looked like it was ready to break out of a cup-with-handle base, but the stock fell close to its 21-day line in early trading.
Credo Technology Group and Astera Labs also fell, with each dropping roughly 2%.
Also, Nvidia edged higher as the stock holds in a buy zone from a conventional entry of 184.48.
9:50 a.m. ET
Nasdaq-100 Winners, Losers: Shopify, Intel, PayPal
Among the Nasdaq-100 stocks, Shopify and Intel rallied 3% and 1.3%, respectively, making them some of the best performers at the market open. Shopify shares are getting back to a 156.85 entry after recent losses.
Meanwhile, PayPal declined 1.5%, finding resistance at the 50-day moving average.
8:48 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Movers: Apple, Caterpillar, UnitedHealth
Inside the blue chip index, Caterpillar and UnitedHealth Group were among the best performers in premarket action, with gains of 0.5% and 1.7%, respectively.
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Caterpillar shares moved further above a recent buy point at 441.15, while UnitedHealth stock looked to extend a winning streak to five sessions.
On the downside, Apple stock lost nearly 1% in morning trading. Shares are just shy of record highs.
8:01 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Astera Labs, Nvidia, Tesla Rally
Artificial intelligence chip stock Astera added 1.5% premarket Friday, on pace to add to Thursday's 7.8% gain. Shares are rebounding from their 50-day moving average, placing them in a new buying area.
Nvidia shares rose 0.3% Friday, looking to extend a winning streak to seven sessions. The stock is above a 184.48 buy point and in the 5% buy zone.
Tesla stock bounced 1.4% early Friday, after Thursday's 5.1% decline. The electric-vehicle giant remains sharply above a 367.71 entry.
Breakout Stocks Watch: What Looms For October?
Stock Market Today: Jobs Report Delayed
Due to the federal government shutdown, the Labor Department will not issue its September jobs report.
According to Econoday estimates, the U.S. economy is expected to have added 50,000 jobs in September, up from August's 22,000 increase. The unemployment rate is predicted to remain steady at 4.3%.
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