Markets opened higher Friday morning across the U.S. and Europe, aiming to close out a rocky week on a more stable note, according to data from CNBC.
Traders returned with steady hands after inflation jitters, gold’s worst slump in nearly a year, oil shocks from new Russian sanctions, and brutal corporate layoffs all hammered sentiment earlier in the week.
Dow futures slipped by just 18 points overnight. That’s a 0.04% dip, barely a wobble. S&P 500 futures rose 0.06%, and Nasdaq 100 futures edged up nearly 0.2%. Wall Street clearly didn’t want to make any bold decisions before Friday’s U.S. inflation print, but momentum is starting to build behind the bulls again.
Tech recovers as Intel jumps and metals try to recover
Intel led the after-hours action Thursday with a 7% spike. The company’s third-quarter sales came in stronger than expected, and that alone was enough to drag attention back into big tech. Meanwhile, Target gained slightly after confirming it would cut 8% of its corporate workforce. That’s its first major round of layoffs in 10 years.
Applied Materials and Rivian joined the growing list of U.S. firms tightening headcount this week. No fanfare, just cold cuts.
All three major U.S. indexes had ended Thursday in the green. The Dow Jones finished the session 144 points higher, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 climbed 0.6%, and the Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 0.9% gain. That helped wipe out Wednesday’s losses and pushed the indexes toward solid weekly gains.
The S&P 500 was up 1.1% for the week. The Nasdaq and Dow both showed 1.2% weekly gains going into Friday’s open. Traders poured into tech again, with Nvidia and Oracle grabbing strong inflows as earnings season ramps up.
Gold prices dropped again Friday morning. Spot gold was down 0.9% to $4,086.46 an ounce by press time, and on pace for a 3.8% weekly loss, the biggest since November 2024. U.S. gold futures due in December also fell, dropping 1.1% to $4,101.80.
Copper is heading toward a new test of $11,000 a ton, closing in on a record set last year, on concerns about supplies following a spate of mine mishaps at a time of broad optimism over demand.
The three-month futures rose more than 1% to approach $10,970 a ton in intraday trade in London. In other base metals, aluminum traded at the highest level in more than three years, while zinc and tin also advanced in Friday’s session.
Copper traded 0.6% higher at $10,919.50 a ton at press time, while aluminum gained to $2,883.50 a ton, the highest since May 2022, with the lightweight metal on track for a fourth weekly gain.
Meanwhile, a rising dollar is doing damage.
The dollar index gained for the third straight session, up 0.37% for the week and sitting at 99.04. That strength hit other currencies hard. The euro slipped 0.11% to $1.1606, down 0.4% on the week.
Sterling held flat at $1.3322, but still looked at a 0.9% decline since Monday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.3% at the bell. The FTSE 100, DAX 40, and CAC 40 all gained around 0.1% in early trading. Italy’s FTSE MIB moved up 0.3%, keeping pace with Wall Street. Most sectors were green, with earnings pouring in and traders cautiously stepping back in.
And with U.S. sanctions now hitting Rosneft and Lukoil, traders began pricing in disruptions, so the Brent crude s trading just under $66 a barrel, up 7%, the highest since June. West Texas Intermediate traded just below $62.
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