U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday, rebounding from early declines after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy was "in a good place," but uncertainty about U.S. trade policy led to Wall Street's biggest weekly decline in months.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 222.64 points, or 0.52%, to 42,801.72, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 31.68 points, or 0.55%, to 5,770.20 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 126.97 points, or 0.70%, to 18,196.22.
Market Movers
Broadcom rose 8.6% after the semiconductor and software company posted better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter earnings and issued strong guidance. Broadcom reported adjusted earnings in the first quarter of $1.60 a share, higher than analysts' expectations of $1.51. Revenue of $14.92 billion topped consensus of $14.62 billion. Artificial-intelligence revenue in the quarter was $4.1 billion, up 77% from a year earlier. For the current second quarter, Broadcom anticipates revenue of $14.9 billion compared with expectations of $14.71 billion. CEO Hock Tan said Broadcom's largest technology customers continue to "invest aggressively" in their next generation AI models.
Nvidia, the leading maker of AI chips, gained 1.9% after tumbling 5.7% on Thursday. The stock traded higher earlier in Friday's session on the belief that Broadcom's report could inject some life into the faltering artificial-intelligence trade. Nvidia shares have declined 20% this year. Fellow chip company Micron Technology gained 4% on Friday.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise sank 12% after fiscal first-quarter earnings and second-quarter guidance missed Wall Street expectations and the server and cloud-software company said it would begin a cost-cutting program that will reduce its overall headcount by about 5%, or about 2,500 jobs. HPE said it expects second-quarter adjusted earnings of 28 cents to 34 cents a share on revenue of $7.2 billion to $7.6 billion. Analysts expect adjusted earnings of 50 cents on revenue of $7.92 billion. As for the tariffs situation, CEO Antonio Neri told Barron's that it was a "very fluid, complicated situation, with a lot of moving parts and twists." The CEO said HPE does a lot of manufacturing in Mexico.
Marvell Technology fell 2% after the chip maker sank nearly 20% on Thursday, the stock's largest percentage decrease since Sept. 27, 2001, when it fell 32%, according to Dow Jones Market Data. On Wednesday, Marvell issued fiscal first-quarter guidance that was mostly in line with expectations, disappointing investors who had thought the company might offer even more positive forecasts.
Tesla was down 0.3% at $262.67. The stock fell even as TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli upgraded shares of the electric-vehicle maker to Buy from Hold and raised the price target to $388 a share from $180.
Gap jumped 19% after the apparel retailer topped fourth-quarter earnings expectations and delivered stronger-than-expected profit guidance for the current fiscal year. Gap sees total company sales in the fiscal year rising between 1% to 2% versus Wall Street expectations of a 1.7% increase to $15.7 billion. The retailer projects an increase in operating income of between 8% and 10% from $1.1 billion in 2024.
Walgreens Boots Alliance will be taken private by Sycamore Partners in a $23.7 billion deal. Sycamore will pay $11.45 a share in cash, representing an equity value of around $10 billion. Shareholders also will receive up to $3 in cash per share representing the future sale of the company's debt and equity interests in VillageMD. The companies expect the deal to close in the fourth quarter. Walgreens rose 7.5% to $11.39.
Fiscal second-quarter earnings at Costco Wholesale, the warehouse retailer, missed analysts' estimates, sending shares down 6.1%. Costco reported earnings of $4.02 a share, below estimates of $4.09, as revenue of $63.7 billion was slightly better than projections of $63.1 billion. Same-store sales rose 6.8% and beat estimates that called for a 6.4% increase.
Intuitive Machines tumbled 22% after difficulties landing the company's Athena spaceship near the moon's south pole on Thursday. The craft touched down around noon Eastern time, but NASA's broadcast of the landing finished without clear information on the status of the craft.
BigBear.ai dropped 21% after fourth-quarter revenue at the artificial-intelligence-analysis company missed expectations. The company also said it was likely there would be "short- to mid-term delays or disruptions in federal contracts" as the Trump administration moves to cut costs.
Market News
Fed expected to cut rates in June as jobs data raises potential red flags
U.S. job growth picked up in February, the Labor Department reported on Friday, with employers adding 151,000 jobs. That's well above the monthly growth rate of 80,000 to 100,000 that Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Thursday said he would view as being a healthy level of job creation.
Traders of short-term interest rate futures after the report pushed their bets on a start to Fed rate cuts to June, from a view of May before the report, but still see a total of three cuts in 2025.
Trump Threatens Russia With Sanctions in Push for Peace Deal
President Trump said he is “strongly considering” imposing far-reaching sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a peace agreement is reached in the war in Ukraine.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” Trump wrote on social media on Friday.
