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    Wall Street Eyes 9th Straight Day Of Gains, Apple Falls As Chinese Sales Disappoint: What's Driving Markets Friday?

    Benzinga·05/02/2025 16:12:08
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    U.S. stocks advanced across the board by midday Friday, with the S&P 500 eyeing its ninth consecutive day of gains—poised for the longest winning streak since May 2024.

    Risk appetite remained firm, underpinned by solid corporate earnings and a stronger-than-expected April jobs report. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 177,000, beating expectations of 130,000 and easing concerns over tariff-related hiring slowdowns.

    All eleven S&P 500 sectors traded in positive territory, led slightly by financials over technology. Major indexes have now fully recovered from the declines sparked on April 2, when President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs across trading partners.

    The Nasdaq 100 climbed to levels last seen in late March, capping a strong week for tech stocks. Among the Magnificent Seven, all were on pace to close the week higher except Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), which slipped 4% as strong earnings were overshadowed by weaker sales in China.

    The U.S. dollar index resumed its decline, pressured by renewed calls from President Trump for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates ahead of next week's policy meeting.

    Treasury yields surged following the upbeat jobs data, with the 10-year note jumping 10 basis points to 4.31%, easing recession concerns entering the second quarter.

    In commodities, oil prices fell back to $58 per barrel despite Thursday's rally on heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Gold rebounded 0.5%, set to snap a three-day losing streak, while natural gas prices jumped 4.4% to a two-week high.

    Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) edged up 1% to $97,500, marking its fourth straight week of gains.

    Major Indices Price 1-day %chg
    Russell 2000 2,009.90 +1.7%
    Nasdaq 100 20,052.42 +1.3%
    S&P 500 5,671.17 +1.2%
    Dow Jones 41,130.34 +0.9%
    Updated by 11:30 a.m. ET

    According to Benzinga Pro data:

    • The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) rose 1.2% to $565.03.
    • The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.9% to $411.29.
    • The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) rallied 1.4% to $488.26.
    • The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) soared 1.8% to $199.58.
    • The Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) outperformed, up 1.7%; the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) lagged, up 0.3%.

    Friday’s Stock Movers

    Stocks reacting to earnings reports included:

    • Apple Inc.: down 4.0%
    • Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN): up 0.2%
    • Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM): up 0.0%
    • Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX): up 0.7%
    • Eaton Corporation plc (NYSE:ETN): down 2.1%
    • Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN): down 1.8%
    • Cigna Group (NYSE:CI): down 0.5%
    • Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG): up 3.5%
    • Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR): up 4.0%
    • DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM): up 14.2%
    • Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO): down 1.7%
    • T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TROW): up 3.5%
    • Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (BATS:CBOE): up 1.2%
    • Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD): up 1.4%
    • Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:LYV): up 0.1%
    • Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI): down 6.2%
    • Airbnb, Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB): down 0.2%

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    Photo: Shutterstock