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
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
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Image: Shutterstock
BTCGrayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC)
$38.603.08%
Overview
$BTCBitcoin
$87100.601.92%
$ETHEthereum
$2948.204.30%
$SOLSolana
$123.963.71%
ALABAstera Labs Inc
$162.2311.2%
ASTSAST SpaceMobile Inc
$73.7211.8%
BMRNBioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc
$61.6218.6%
CCLCarnival Corp
$30.758.50%
DIASPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF
$482.500.41%
HHHHoward Hughes Holdings Inc
$79.54-5.08%
IWMiShares Russell 2000 ETF
$251.120.97%
KBRKBR Inc
$40.98-4.25%
LPXLouisiana-Pacific Corp
$80.57-5.45%
LWLamb Weston Holdings Inc
$44.81-24.5%
MSTRStrategy Inc
$164.764.12%
MUMicron Technology Inc
$266.277.13%
NKENike Inc
$58.88-10.3%
NVDANVIDIA Corp
$180.683.75%
QQQInvesco QQQ Trust, Series 1
$617.241.33%
RIVNRivian Automotive Inc
$22.3910.4%
RKLBRocket Lab Corp
$69.4515.9%
VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF
$627.980.96%
XLKState Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF
$144.452.06%
XLPState Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF
$78.84-0.44%
XLYState Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF
$122.08-0.21%
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