The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped on Friday, but clinched its best week of the year after back-to-back record-setting sessions.
The Dow dipped 305.47 points, or 0.77%, to close at 39,475.90. The S&P 500 inched lower by 0.14% to end at 5,234.18. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.16% and closed at 16,428.82 for another record.
All three major averages notched healthy gains this week, with the S&P 500 rising about 2.3%. The Dow was up just shy of 2% for its best week since December. The Nasdaq is the outperformer of the three, jumping nearly 2.9%.
"It's a digestion period after a really strong week," said Truist's co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner of Friday's moves. "Our view is that the overall trend is still positive for the market, especially when you see this breakout of new highs, on track for your fifth consecutive month of gains."
One reason for the market optimism stems from this week's Federal Reserve meeting. The central bank left rates unchanged, and commentary from Fed Chair Jerome Powell reinforced that cuts are coming despite a recent bout of hot inflation readings that led some investors to fear a postponed easing timeline.
"That was enough for this market to move forward," Lerner said.
FedEx rose more than 7% after posting adjusted earnings that beat analyst estimates, while Nike sank 6.9% on disappointing guidance and slowing China sales. Lululemon slid 15.8% on weak guidance and slowing growth in North America, posting its worst day since March 2020.
The major indexes closed at record levels on Thursday for a second day, and hit all-time intraday highs. Thursday was the fourth straight winning session for the three indexes, with the Dow finishing close to the 40,000 level.
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:
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:
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