Stocks were rising again midday Friday, putting Wall Street on pace for a fifth straight day of gains as rate cut hopes surged and risk appetite returned across tech, crypto and commodities.
Traders now see an 88% chance the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by 25 basis points at its Dec. 10 meeting, up from just 50% last week, according to CME FedWatch data.
At midday, the S&P 500 was up 0.4% to 6,840, sitting just 1% below its all-time high and heading for its strongest five-day rally since May. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.6% above 25,340, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 300 points to trade near 47,730, eyeing a record-high close.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) led the S&P 500, jumping nearly 8%, as dip-buying returned to November’s beaten-down tech names.
Crypto-related stocks saw sharp intraday gains after Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) steadied near $90,000. Circle Internet Group Inc. (NYSE:CRCL) rose 10%, Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) gained 3.5% and Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) added 2.2%.
Metals markets extended a blistering rally. Silver surged nearly 5% to an all-time high of $55.80 as Chinese inventories hit their lowest levels in a decade due to increased exports to London amid tight supply. Year-to-date, silver is now up 93% — on track for its best year since 1979. Gold was also higher, rising 1% to $4,200.
Copper gained 2.5% to $5.30 per pound, driven by persistent supply issues. It’s now up 31% on the year, its strongest performance since 2010.
Energy-related commodities also notched robust gains on Friday. Natural gas prices at the Henry Hub facility jumped 4.5% to $4.80 per million British thermal units, marking a new three-year high.
Crude oil climbed 1.5% as momentum from earlier losses faded. Optimism over a Russia-Ukraine peace deal cooled, with markets adjusting expectations and trimming short positions.
Read also: These 10 S&P 500 Stocks Are Dirt Cheap This Black Friday
Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day % Change |
| Dow Jones | 47,761.98 | 0.7% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 25,394.23 | 0.6% |
| S&P 500 | 6,844.19 | 0.5% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,494.57 | 0.3% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 0.5% to $628.02.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rallied 0.7% to $477.49.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rose 0.6% to $617.91.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) gained 0.4% to $248.34.
- The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) outperformed, up 1.3%; the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) lagged, down 0.6%.
Russell 1000’s Top 5 Gainers and Losers On Friday
| Stock Name | Change % |
|---|---|
| Circle Internet Group Inc. | +11.40% |
| Intel Corp. | +8.68% |
| Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) | +7.54% |
| Shift4 Payments Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) | +5.47% |
| Reddit Inc. (NYSE:RDDT) | +4.84% |
| Stock Name | Change % |
|---|---|
| AngloGold Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) | −5.07% |
| RLI Corp. (NYSE:RLI) | −3.15% |
| Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) | −2.80% |
| Medpace Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDP) | −2.69% |
| Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) | −2.51% |
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