The Dow was the only major index to score a weekly win
Stocks were mixed on Friday to wrap up a volatile week on Wall Street, despite earlier surging in response to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's calls for additional stimulus. The Dow added one single point, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also finished in the black, thanks to outsized gains from Applied Materials (AMAT). The same cannot be said for the S&P 500, though, which registered a modest loss. Rising interest rates, as well as a Big Tech selloff are behind today's lackluster price action. For the week, only the Dow walked away with marginal gains.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- Why Kraft Heinz stock slid after a valuation warning.
- This semiconductor name hit a record high post-earnings.
- Plus, TripAdvisor stock travels higher; ROKU brushes off bull notes; and a restaurant name with cheap options.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 31,494.32) added 1 point, or was flat for the day, and rose 0.1% for the week. Caterpillar (CAT) led the Dow components with a 5% rise, while Visa (V) paced the laggards, falling 2.2%.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,906.71) fell 7.3 points, or 0.2% for the day, and 0.7% for the week. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 13,874.46) added 9.1 points, or 0.07% for the day, but fell 1.6% for the week.
Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 22.05) fell 0.4 point, or 2% for the day, but added 10.4% for the week.
- U.S. President Joe Biden backed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military alliance, and promised to fix strained relationships with its partners and European allies. (CNBC)
- Twitter (TWTR), Facebook (FB) and other companies have signed onto a Silicon Valley-born initiative that seeks to boost diversity in leadership to 25% by 2025. (MarketWatch)
- Tripadvisor stock took a ride to annual highs despite an earnings miss.
- This outperforming restaurant name has affordable options right now.
- A slew of bull notes and quarterly win failed to boost Roku stock.
Gold Prices Register Biggest Weekly Drop Since January
Oil prices were lower on Friday, falling back below the $60 level on expectations that crude output in Texas will soon return to normal, following a brutal winter storm that left refineries either closer or working at reduced capacity. Investors were also worried the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) may ease production curbs, and were closely monitoring tense U.S.-Iran relations. In response, March-dated crude fell $1.28, or 2.1%, to settle at $59.24 per barrel on the day. For the week, it fell 0.4%.
Meanwhile, gold prices were higher, though the safe-haven commodity still registered its biggest weekly drop since January. A weaker U.S. dollar helped gold par some of those losses, as did Yellen's aforementioned calls for additional stimulus. As a result, for the day April-dated gold added $2.40, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,777.40 an ounce. For the week, it fell 2.5%.