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Stocks were little changed in early trading Friday as the market takes a breather from a rally that has lifted major indexes to record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was up 0.2% recently, after surging to its first record high since December in the opening minutes of the session. The move higher was powered by a 10% gain for shares of UnitedHealth (UNH), following news late Thursday that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had taken a stake in the struggling insurer. The benchmark S&P 500 (SPX) was down 0.1% this morning after closing at records in each of the past three sessions, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), which has also hit a series of new highs recently, declined 0.2%.
Stocks finished yesterday’s session near unchanged after spending most of the day in negative territory following a report on wholesale inflation that came in hotter than expected, which tempered expectations for interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. The major indexes remain on track to post weekly gains for the second straight week.
Investors were keeping close tabs on several economic data releases this morning. A report on retail sales came in largely as expected, while a closely watched reading on consumer sentiment was slightly weaker than anticipated. Market participants are watching the data for confirmation of trends that would make make the Fed more likely to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time this year.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies were mixed in early trading Friday. Chip giants Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO) both declined about 2%, while Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) ticked lower. Alphabet (GOOG), Amazon (AMZN) and Meta Platforms (META) each rose less than 1%.
Intel (INTC) shares rose nearly 2% following reports late Thursday that the Trump administration is weighing the possibility of taking a stake in the beleaguered chipmaker.
Other semiconductor stocks were under pressure this morning. Applied Materials (MAT) plunged 12% after issuing a disappointing outlook, while KLA Corp. (KLAC) and Lam Research (LRCX) each dropped 6%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was down nearly 2%.
Steelmaker Nucor (NUE) was up 2% recently, while homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI) gained 1% after Berkshire Hathaway disclosed it had acquired stakes in the companies. Both stocks were off their opening highs.
Bitcoin was trading $117,900 this morning, little changed from yesterday afternoon but down from an overnight high of $119,300. The digital currency hit a record high of $124,500 early yesterday before falling sharply as the day progressed.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.4% at 97.88, trading at its lowest level in three weeks.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, notably mortgages, was little changed at 4.30%, after surging following yesterday’s inflation report. The yield fell as low as 4.18% last week, its lowest level since early May, as market expectations for interest rate cuts by the Fed increased after a weak July jobs report.
West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, slipped 1.4% at $63.10 per barrel and were trading at their lowest levels since early June. Gold futures were holding steady at $3,385 an ounce.
