Summary
U.S. equity markets closed with gains on Friday, paced by the Consumer Services, Technology and Telecoms sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.47% at the New York Stock Exchange close, the S&P 500 advanced 0.69%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.90%. The session featured a number of strong single-stock performances on the major indexes as well as steep declines among other listed companies.
Major index moves
At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished higher by 0.47%. The S&P 500 notched a 0.69% increase and the Nasdaq Composite led with a 0.90% gain.
Top performers on the Dow
On the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) was the largest winner, climbing 2.60% to settle at 210.19. Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) rose 1.68% to 304.93, and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) increased 1.54% to close at 264.59.
Lagging Dow names
Among the weaker Dow constituents, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) fell 1.79% to 242.49. Walmart Inc (NASDAQ:WMT) declined 1.51% to 122.98, and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) slipped 0.72% to 232.03.
S&P 500 movers
On the S&P 500, Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) led gainers, up 7.29% to 139.46. Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) rose 5.24% to 46.57, and Extra Space Storage Inc (NYSE:EXR) added 4.56% to finish at 152.75. The heaviest declines on the S&P were Akamai Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:AKAM), down 13.98% to 94.27; CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD), off 7.95% to 388.57; and Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), which fell 5.40% to 148.08.
Notable Nasdaq performers
The Nasdaq session included extreme single-stock moves. Park Ha Biological Technology Co (NASDAQ:BYAH) advanced 4,460.00% to 2.28, Abits Group Inc (NASDAQ:ABTS) climbed 75.12% to 3.73, and Real Messenger Corp (NASDAQ:RMSG) gained 50.20% to close at 0.89. At the opposite end, Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment (NASDAQ:BHAT) plunged 74.26% to 0.11, Twin Vee Powercats Co (NASDAQ:VEEE) dropped 51.92% to 0.45, and Grail Inc (NASDAQ:GRAL) declined 50.55% to 50.21.
Market breadth and extremes
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers outnumbered decliners by 1,603 to 1,130, with 91 issues unchanged. The Nasdaq saw 1,726 fall and 1,598 rise, while 217 finished unchanged. Several stocks reached milestone levels: Corning Incorporated (NYSE:GLW) and Travelers Companies (NYSE:TRV) traded at record highs during the session, while Park Ha Biological Technology Co (NASDAQ:BYAH), Blue Hat Interactive Entertainment (NASDAQ:BHAT) and Twin Vee Powercats Co (NASDAQ:VEEE) hit all-time lows.
Volatility and commodities
The CBOE Volatility Index, a gauge of implied S&P 500 option volatility, declined 5.68% to 19.08. In commodities, Gold futures for April delivery moved higher, up 2.51% to 5,122.64 per troy ounce. U.S. crude oil for April delivery slipped 0.05% to $66.37 a barrel, while the April Brent contract ticked up 0.01% to $71.67 a barrel.
Foreign exchange and dollar
In currency trading, the euro against the dollar (EUR/USD) was essentially unchanged at 1.18, a 0.14% move reported. The dollar weakened slightly versus the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.05% to 154.97. The U.S. Dollar Index Futures were quoted lower by 0.22% at 97.64.
Takeaways
- Benchmarks ended higher with the Nasdaq outperforming, driven by gains in consumer-facing, technology and telecom-related names.
- Single-stock volatility remained pronounced on the Nasdaq, where a handful of companies posted very large percentage moves in both directions.
- Implied volatility eased as the VIX fell, while gold rallied and crude oil showed little net movement.
Context and closing
The session closed with a broadly positive tone among U.S. benchmarks, though market breadth and steep idiosyncratic moves in individual equities underscored an uneven market picture. Traders and portfolio managers will note both the headline index gains and the concentrated nature of some of the day's largest moves.