Nasdaq 100 Eyes Record High Close, Fifth Positive Week As Traders Flock To AI-Linked Stocks: What's Driving Markets Friday?

Technology stocks surged on Friday, rebounding sharply after Thursday’s decline, as investor confidence in the artificial intelligence-driven rally remained high.

The Nasdaq 100 index jumped over 1%, reaching 18,820 points by 1 p.m. in New York, setting the stage for a record high close and marking its fifth consecutive week of gains — the longest streak since January.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, though it only partially recovered from Thursday’s losses. Small-cap stocks saw robust gains, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM up 1%, while blue chips increased by just 0.2%.

Chipmakers, solar and power utilities were the top-performing industries, as traders appeared to broaden their focus to a wider array of AI-related beneficiaries.

Treasury yields remained stable as Thursday’s inflation concerns eased slightly following the University of Michigan’s downward revision of consumer inflation expectations. As a result, the U.S. dollar index (DXY), tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, fell 0.3%, ending a six-day winning streak.

The weakening dollar provided some relief to precious metals, with gold and silver rising 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, while crude oil, as tracked by the United States Oil Fund USO, increased by 1%.

Bitcoin BTC/USD edged up 0.6%, on track to close its second consecutive positive week for the first time since early March.

Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was trading 0.6% higher to $529.09, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.2% to $391.29 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was 1% higher to $458.05, according to Benzinga Pro data. 

Among sectors, the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY outperformed, up by 1.1%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLV lagged, easing 0.1%.

Friday’s Stock Movers

• Deckers Outdoor Corp. DECK skyrocketed 14% to fresh record highs after sharply beating the Street’s earnings and revenue estimates.
• Other companies reacting to earnings were Ross Stores Inc. ROST up 9%, Workday Inc. WDAY down 14%, Intuit Inc. INTU down 8%, Booz Allen Hamilton Corp. BAH up 3.6%, Buckle Inc. BKE up 2% and StepStone Group Inc. STEP up 10%.
• Petco Health and Wellness Company Inc. WOOF rallied 12%, pushing weekly gains to above 40%, after RBC lifted the company’s price target from $2.70 to $3.
• First Solar Inc. FSLR rose over 8%, on track for the highest close since August 2008, as the rally momentum in solar-related stocks remained strong.

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Illustration via Pixabay.