Dow closes 300 points lower Friday, but notches best week since December: Live updates

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended Friday lower by 305.47 points, or 0.77%, to close at 39,475.90. The S&P 500 also closed the session with a modest decline of 0.14%, ending at 5,234.18. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed, with a gain of 0.16% for a closing record of 16,428.82.

All three major stock indexes capped the week with gains. S&P 500 was higher by 2.29%, while the 30-stock Dow closed up by 1.97%. The Nasdaq added 2.85%.

-Darla Mercado

Markets cheered this week's Federal Reserve decision to leave interested unchanged, and maintain expectations for three cuts this year despite a recent spate of hot inflation reports.

But the market may be getting ahead of itself, according to Envestnet's Dana D'Auria.

"The market is getting a little overexcited," said the co-chief investment officer. "I don't interpret the comments to mean that we necessarily get that rate cut in June."

Given the current data, D'Auria believes there's a "pretty decent chance" that the central bank cuts fewer than three times this year, adding that she sees greater risks in cutting too soon.

"Powell is trying to thread the needle between not letting the market expect too much but also not disappointing the market," she said. "Unless the data support a cut, I don't necessarily think we will get one."

— Samantha Subin

The blowout run in semiconductor stocks is putting the VanEck Semiconductor ETF on pace for one of its best quarterly performances in more than two decades.

The fund is up about 30% since the start of the year, tracking for its best quarterly performance since its 41.6% gain in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Leading the pack is Nvidia. The AI darling is up another 90% this quarter after a 239% gain in 2023. It is also on track for its best quarterly performance since the fourth quarter of 2001.

The index is also headed for its fifth consecutive winning month and its longest winning streak since a six-month rally that ended in March 2021. It sits about 4% off of its all-time high.

Taiwan Semiconductor is another notable gainer, on pace for a 35% gain. Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices have jumped more than 20%. Applied Materials is up about 30%.

— Samantha Subin, Nick Wells

The dominance of the Magnificent 7 in last year's rally led to concerns about market concentration and if the market could broaden out, but staying focused on just a small group of large might still be the best move for investors.

Cayla Seder, a macro multi-asset strategist at State Street, told CNBC that paying up for those Big Tech names might still be worth it, given their fundamental strength and earnings growth.

"We should be in an environment where earnings are pressured. So we want to be in those areas that can actually deliver earnings," Seder said in an interview.

Read more about the valuations of different parts of the market on CNBC Pro.

— Jesse Pound

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is on pace for a 2.3% gain for the week and its best weekly performance of the year.

Goldman Sachs, Salesforce and Home Depot are the best weekly performers in the index, with gains of about 5%. Other big weekly winners included Boeing, Caterpillar and American Express. All four stocks are up more than 4% for the week.

Five stocks have bucked the Dow's week-to-date uptrend. Nike is the biggest laggard, with a 5% slump. Johnson & Johnson is down 1.8%.

— Samantha Subin

Real estate stocks underperformed on Friday, contributing to the S&P 500 sector's 1.3% daily loss.

The sector was the worst performer in the broad index during afternoon trading. Boston Properties and Kimco Realty were the biggest laggards, dropping 3%. CoStar Group and Iron Mountain lost at least 2% each107391191.

Financial stocks also lagged, dragging the S&P sector 0.9%. M&T Bank, Blackstone, MSCI and Visa led the sector's losses, falling about 2% each.

— Samantha Subin

These are the stocks moving the most in midday trading:

• Nike — The sneaker brand fell nearly 8% after the company gave a soft outlook for the full year and reported that sales in China have been slowing.
• Lululemon — The athleisure company plummeted 16% after posting weaker-than-expected guidance as demand slows in North America.
• FedEx — The shipping company jumped 7% after beating analyst expectations in its last quarter.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Wells Fargo expects the stock market to keep moving higher.

"The Fed's reiteration of monetary easing plans despite expectations of a hotter macro backdrop predictably ushered in another wave of 'risk-on' trading," analyst Christopher Harvey wrote in a note Friday. "We think this upward bias to equity prices will persist in the near term."

Small camps and midcaps "thrived" after the Federal Reserve stuck with its projections of three rate cuts this year, he said. However, momentum stocks were the best performer week to date, added Harvey, who said he remains "pro-Momentum."

The S&P 500 added 2.3% week to date, as of Thursday's close, and is up nearly 10% year to date.

— Michelle Fox

Best Buy rose nearly 2% Friday as JPMorgan turned bullish.

Analyst Christopher Horvers upgraded his rating on the retailer to overweight from neutral. In a note to clients, he called Best Buy a "spring-loaded stock."

CNBC Pro subscribers can click here to read more about the Best Buy upgrade. All the biggest Wall Street chatter out Friday morning is covered for subscribers here and here.

— Alex Harring

Alphabet shares rose 2.4% on Friday, with Wedbush adding the Google parent company to its 'Best Ideas List' on "clear" confidence of its AI capabilities.

"We believe the perceived structural risks to Google Search are overstated and continue to view Alphabet as a net beneficiary of generative AI," analyst Scott Devitt wrote in a note, saying the company has an "unmatched breadth of data" to develop and train AI models, as well as AI-optimized compute infrastructure and a proven history of effective monetization.

Devitt kept his outperform rating and raised its price target by $15 to $175, suggesting the tech stock could jump another 18.6% over the next year. So far this year, shares have added roughly 8.1%.

— Pia Singh

Lululemon Athletica sank nearly 18% on Friday, putting the athleisure stock on pace for its worst day since March 2020.

The company topped quarterly estimates for the holiday quarter, but offered lackluster guidance that fell short of estimates due to slowing growth in North America.

Lululemon said it expects net revenue to range between $2.18 billion and $2.20 billion in the current quarter, versus and estimate of $2.25 billion, according to LSEG. For the full year, it anticipates sales ranging between $10.7 billion and $10.8 billion, versus a $10.9 billion estimate.

— Samantha Subin

The Dow is on pace to see its biggest weekly gain since last year.

The blue-chip index has jumped 2.6% so far this week. If that holds through session close, it would mark the best week since December, when the 30-stock average climbed 2.9%.

With this week's gain, the Dow moved toward the closely watched 40,000 level.

— Alex Harring, Chris Hayes

Stocks opened little changed on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 20 points, while the S&P 500 hovered near the flatline. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.15%.

— Samantha Subin

Two of Cathie Wood's Ark Invest funds bought shares of Reddit on the social media company's first day as a public company, according to Ark's daily trade email.

The combined value of the stakes was about $503 million based on Reddit's closing price Thursday. It's not clear what price the Ark funds paid for the shares.

Read more about the moves on CNBC Pro.

— Jesse Pound

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Nike — The stock slumped about 6% after the iconic sneaker brand reported slowing growth in China in its fiscal 2024 third quarter, despite posting better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, boosted by North American sales and price changes.
• Reddit — The social media stock slipped 2.7%, giving back a fraction of the gains from the prior day's IPO. Reddit soared more than 48% on Thursday after pricing its IPO at $34 per share.
• Best Buy — The electronics retailer added 2.8% after JPMorgan upgraded its investment opinion to overweight from neutral. The bank sees an improved outlook for Best Buy, in part due to computing trends kicking in for back to school. JPMorgan also hiked its price target by $12 to $101, suggesting 26% upside

For the full list, read here.

— Pia Singh

Wall Street analysts are sticking by Apple despite the Department of Justice's antitrust suit filed Thursday.

Read more on what the lawsuit could mean for the stock in the short-term and over the long run here.

— Samantha Subin

Tesla shares were down more than 3% in the premarket after Bloomberg News reported the EV maker had trimmed production output in China amid slowing sales growth. Shares of Nio, RIvian Automotive and Li Auto were also lower before the bell.

The stock has been under pressure all year, losing more than 30%.

— Fred Imbert

China's onshore and offshore yuan slipped to its weakest levels against the greenback since November 2023, with both metrics breaching the 7.2 level.

The onshore yuan last traded at 7.225, while the offshore yuan stood at 7.254.

Reuters reported that China's state banks were swapping dollars for yuan in a bid to arrest the slide.

— Lim Hui Jie, Reuters

Hong Kong-listed shares of Li Auto plunged as much as 9.2% on Friday, weighing down the broader Hang Seng index.

The Chinese electric vehicle firm cut its deliveries outlook for the first quarter. It now expects to deliver between 76,000 and 78,000 vehicles, down from 100,000 to 103,000 units forecast earlier.

The Hang Seng index fell 2.7%, while the Hang Seng Tech index dropped 3.8%.

Other EV makers also declined — Xpeng dropped 8.3% and Nio fell 3%.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Apple suppliers in Asia largely fell after the U.S. Department of Justice sued Apple in an antitrust case on Thursday, saying that the iPhone maker has a monopoly over the phone market that harmed consumers, developers, and rival companies.

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp, which supplies the chips that power the iPhone, were down 0.77%.

South Korean electronics firms Samsung Electronics and LG Display lost 1.13% and 2.41% respectively. Both firms produce OLED screens for the iPhone.

However, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry in Taiwan, jumped 3.16%.

— Lim Hui Jie

Taiwan's central bank raised its main policy rate from 1.875% to 2%, its highest level since 2008, in a surprise move on Thursday, according to an official statement.

The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) said "inflation has stayed at a relatively higher level since 2021 and that a proposed electricity rate hike might be implemented in April this year, inflation expectations might shift upwards."

In a Reuters poll, 25 out of 26 economists said the central bank would keep the rate unchanged. 

"The decision reinforced CBC's commitment in containing inflation," Commerzbank said, while adding that it now expects the central bank to take a cautious approach.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Utility stocks are beating tech stocks so far in March (up 3.2% vs 2.8%) in the S&P 500 and if history is any guide, April will be a good month too.

The first full of month of Spring has been the best month of the year for utility stocks 80% of the time over the past 20 years, BTIG chief market technician Jonathan Krinsky wrote Thursday, noting that utilities have recently performed well even as interest rates have moved higher, and "look to emerge out of a multi-month base."

Consequently, he argues the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund "looks timely here as a bearish-to-bullish reversal candidate." The average monthly gain for XLU is 2.15% every April over the past two decades, Krinsky wrote.

— Scott Schnipper

All three major averages cinched record closing highs on Thursday, for the second session in a row. Here's where the major averages stand for the week ahead of Friday's trading:

• The S&P 500 is up 2.43%
• The Nasdaq Composite is up 2.68%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 2.76%
• The Russell 2000 is up 2.90%

— Lisa Kailai Han

These are the stocks moving the most in after-hours trading:

• Lululemon Athletica — Shares of the athleisure company dropped 10%. Lululemon posted weak guidance and reported that growth in North America is slowing.
• FedEx — Shares gained nearly 13% after the shipping company beat quarterly earnings expectations.
• Dutch Bros — Shares of the drive-through coffee chain slipped about 5%. Dutch Bros announced the launch of a secondary offering of its shares by certain stockholders associated with TSG Consumer Partners L.P.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stock futures traded near flat Thursday night.

Dow futures rose 15 points, or less than 0.1%, shortly after 6 p.m. ET. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both climbed 0.1%.

— Lisa Kailai Han