Stocks Stalls As Chip Sector Struggles To Rebound; Dollar Eyes 7-Week Peak, Gold, Bitcoin Retreat: What's Driving Markets Friday?
Wall Street is experiencing a subdued and low volatility trading day Friday, despite the session coinciding with the “triple witching” day, with over $5.1 trillion of notional options exposure expiring, surpassing the previous record set in December 2023.
Chipmakers continue to struggle in the aftermath of Thursday’s sell-off, suggesting that while the wave of profit-taking is easing, there is little sign of new buyers stepping in at these levels.
Nvidia Corp. is down 1.6%, poised to break an eight-week winning streak. The sector benchmark, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NYSE:SOXX), is witnessing its worst two-day performance since May 1.
The major indices and sectors remained flat, while biotech stocks showed the strongest performance among industries, with the iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ:IBB) up 1.9%. Treasury yields were stable, with the 10-year at 4.26%.
On the macro front, S&P Global reported the strongest growth in U.S. private sector activity in two years, surpassing analyst expectations.
Gold saw a decline of 1.4%, reversing Thursday’s positive performance. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) fell 1.8%, heading for its fifth consecutive session of losses, marking the longest losing streak since October 2023.
Oil prices retreated below $81 per barrel, ending a streak of three consecutive sessions of gains.
Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day %chg |
| Russell 2000 | 2,019.94 | 0.0% |
| Dow Jones | 39,140.67 | 0.0% |
| S&P 500 | 5,464.09 | -0.2% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 19,694.57 | -0.3% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was 0.4% lower to $544.76.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) was 0.2% lower to $391.50.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) was 0.1% lower to $480.81.
- Sector-wise, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) outperformed, up by 0.4%, while the Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) lagged, falling 0.5%.
Friday’s Stock Movers
- Serepta Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SRPT) rocketed by over 30% after the company announced expanded U.S. FDA approval of ELEVIDYS for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients ages 4 and above.
- Hertz Global Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:HTZ) rose over 14%, mimicking Thursday’s move, after the car rental company upsized its bond offering to $1 billion to finance a fleet refresh.
- FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) rose 4% following stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. CarMax Inc. (NYSE:KMX) was 1% higher in reactions to quarterly results.
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Photo created using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.
