Major stock indexes were mixed in early trading Friday as the market looks to close out the first week of earnings-reporting season on a high note.
The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were each up 0.1% recently after hitting fresh all-time highs in the opening minutes of the session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. Stocks are coming off a winning session on Thursday, when investor optimism about strong corporate results and better-than-expected economic data boosted the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record closing highs. The Dow entered the day about 1% away from its first new high since December.
Data released this morning on consumer sentiment and housing starts came in largely as economists had expected, adding to the picture of an economy that remains resilient despite concerns about the impact that tariffs could have. Government reports earlier this week on consumer prices and retail sales had also pointed to economic strength, which is good news for markets but also could reduce the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will be in a position to cut interest rates any time soon.
On the earnings front today, Netflix (NFLX) shares dropped 5% in early trading, posting the biggest decline in the Nasdaq 100, even as the streaming giant reported better-than-anticipated second-quarter numbers and raised its revenue outlook. Payment cards giant American Express (AXP) was down 3%, leading Dow decliners, despite reporting results that topped Wall Street expectations. Manufacturing conglomerate 3M (MMM), also in the Dow, was down 2% after a strong quarterly report, while financial services provider Charles Schwab (SCHW) added 3% after releasing its results.
Mega-cap technology stocks, which have fueled the market’s run to record highs, were mixed this morning. Tesla (TSLA) gained 3%, while Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT) and Alphabet (GOOG) edged higher. Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) lost ground.
Bitcoin was at $118,900 recently, after hitting an overnight high of just under $121,000 following Congressional approval late Thursday of legislation that aims to bring cryptocurrencies more into the financial mainstream. Bitcoin isn’t far from the record high of $123,000 set early Monday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, was at 4.43% this morning, down from 4.46% at yesterday’s close. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, is down 0.6% to 98.19, after hitting its highest level in a month on Thursday.
Gold futures were up 0.5% at $3,365 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 0.9% to $68.15 per barrel, near their highest level in a month.