The U.S. stock market lacked clear direction on Friday as traders assessed the latest mixed earnings reports and producer inflation data.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) came in at 1% year-on-year in December, up from a downwardly revised 0.8% in November, but below the predicted 1.3%.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq remained relatively stable, hovering near the unchanged level, while the Dow Jones index experienced a decline of approximately 130 points, or 0.4%. Small-cap stocks, as represented by the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM), saw a marginal 0.1% decline.

Bitcoin experienced a substantial drop in value following the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. The cryptocurrency plummeted by over 6% Friday, marking its worst session since mid-August 2023, as traders likely opted to take profits on the news after the significant 60% rally it had seen since October.

Contrastingly, physical gold, as monitored by the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD), which was initially expected to be one of the assets most affected by the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF, increased by 1%, surpassing the $2,050 per ounce mark.

U.S. Treasury yields showed mixed movements in different maturities. The two-year yields decreased to 4.17%, while the 30-year yield increased to 4.2%.

Friday's Performance In US Major Indices, ETFs

Sector-wise, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) was the outperformer, up 0.8%. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector Fund (NYSE:XLY) lagged behind, down 1%.

On an industry level, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) rallied, up 2.7%. Airline stocks, as tracked by the U.S. Global JETS (NYSE:JETS), tumbled 4.7%

Friday's Stock Movers

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