Tech Stocks Rally, Silver Hits New Record Highs: What's Moving Markets Friday?

U.S. stocks pushed higher on Friday as investors continued to show optimism towards the AI theme and positioned into December's "triple witching" session.

By midday trading in New York, the Nasdaq-100 led gains, with megacap tech and chipmakers rebounding after a volatile week. The S&P 500 and Dow were also solidly higher, while small caps joined the advance.

Technology was the clear leader. Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) was among the standout Nasdaq 100 gainers, rising more than 6% after jumping 10% on Thursday following a blowout earnings report.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) also rallied 3.6%, on its strongest daily performance in over a month.

Earnings drove sharp single-stock reactions. Carnival Corp. (NYSE:CCL) shares surged about 8%, marking their best day since mid-May, after the cruise operator reported better-than-expected quarterly results. The company posted earnings above analyst estimates, delivered record revenue for fiscal 2025, and reinstated its dividend, signaling confidence in sustained travel demand.

Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) negatively reacted despite beating profit estimates. Shares of the athletic apparel giant sank more than 10% as investors focused on margin pressure, slowing sales trends, and continued weakness in China.

Commodities Rose Across the Board

• Silver surged to new record highs above $67 an ounce, extending year-to-date gains to roughly 127%.
• Gold traded near $4,350 per ounce, up about 0.5% and hovering close to record levels.
• Crude oil rose for a third straight session after touching nearly five-year lows earlier this week.
• West Texas Intermediate traded near $56.5 a barrel, up about 1%.

In currency markets, the U.S. dollar jumped roughly 1.3% against the Japanese yen, even after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates to 0.75%, the highest level in 30 years.

Crypto-linked equities advanced alongside digital assets. Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) rose more than 4% as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) traded above $87,000, up 2%, with Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) also posting strong gains.

Friday's Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	% Change
Nasdaq 100	25,355.62	+1.3%
S&P 500	6,842.26	+1.0%
Dow Jones	48,296.09	+0.7%
Russell 2000	2,532.92	+1.0%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) advanced 0.9% to $627.65.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) moved 0.6% up to $482.21.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 1.28% to $616.92.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rose 1% to $251.19.
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) outperformed, rising 2; the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) lagged, down 0.4%.

Russell 1000's Top 5 Gainers And Losers On Friday

Stock Name	Chg %
BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ:BMRN)	18.76%
Rocket Lab Corporation (NASDAQ:RKLB)	16.33%
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)	11.67%
Astera Labs, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALAB)	10.68%
Rivian Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIVN)	10.33%

Stock Name	Chg %
Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LW)	-24.58%
Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE)	-10.23%
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX)	-6.11%
Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HHH)	-5.29%
KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)	-4.59%

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