US stocks ticked upward Friday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) closed at 40,000 for the first time ever.
The Dow rose 0.3% to score its record high. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) ticked up 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped 0.1%, but all the gauges notched weekly wins.
Investor enthusiasm for interest rate cuts rose this week in light of April's encouraging inflation data. The run-up in stocks then hit a bump on Thursday in the wake of warnings from Fed officials that rates are likely to stay at historic highs for a while. While Fedspeak rattled bets on the likelihood of a September cut, it wasn't enough to stop the indexes from rising higher on Friday.
That put the spotlight on appearances by Fed officials. On Friday, US Federal Reserve Governor Michelle Bowman reiterated her view that the central bank has not made progress this year on curbing inflation, she said in a speech in Nashville, Tennessee. Bowman said she is willing to raise rates again at a future meeting if incoming data shows further stalling.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell was scheduled to deliver remarks at Georgetown University’s Law School graduation this Sunday, but he will now be speaking through a pre-recorded video, after he tested positive for COVID-19, a central bank spokesperson said on Friday.
In individual movers, Reddit (RDDT) shares jumped 10%, not far off its highest close of $65.11 hit in March. The social media platform has signed a partnership with OpenAI that will see ChatGPT integrate content from its forums.
Meanwhile, GameStop (GME) shares sank over 19% after the games retailer said it expects first quarter sales to drop as shoppers shift to online outlets. Shares in the meme stock soared at the start of the week in an echo of the 2021 frenzy, but the rally has turned into a slide in recent days.
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Hamza Shaban
The Dow crosses 40,000 for first time
Stocks finished the session on a high note as the Dow pushed through a key 40,000 milestone and all three major indexes notched weekly wins.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.3%, or more than 100 points, closing at a record high of 40,003.59. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) ticked up 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped 0.1%.
Hamza Shaban
A look at the week ahead
Corporate earnings are winding down for the season but several key players are scheduled to report next week. Among the big names are Zoom (ZM), Lowe's (LOW), Target (TGT), and Magnificent Seven darling Nvidia (NVDA), whose stock has surged this year as the company capitalizes on the swelling demand for AI technology.
Several of the tech giants have forecast growing capital expenditures tied to data and AI infrastructure. Nvidia's quarter will offer the latest snapshot of the tech sector's growing appetite for AI hardware.
A slowing earnings calendar puts the spotlight on other market-moving events. Next week will bring two days of Fed officials testifying on Capitol Hill.
Central bankers have reiterated that their goal is to bring inflation down to 2%, even as their tightening campaign has put pressure on some areas of the economy. But some lawmakers have criticized the Fed's policymaking, focusing on elevated home prices and the impacts higher rates are having on first-time homebuyers.
Investors will also glean new insight into the Fed's deliberations with the release of the May policy meeting minutes on Wednesday. Friday will bring fresh survey data on how consumers are feeling about the state of the economy as the battle to clamp down on inflation continues
Yahoo Finance's Brent Sanchez has a graphical breakdown of what to watch next week:
Hamza Shaban
The meme rally spreads to other stocks as the GameStop trade unwinds
While the surging gains of meme stock kings GameStop (GME) and AMC (AMC) have faded at the end of the week, other tickers have continued to climb as investor sentiment swings to excitement.
The EV-related startup Faraday Future (FFIE) gained 122% on Friday. The stock is on pace to gain more than 3,000% for the week. Over the past 24 hours, Faraday Future was the third-most-mentioned stock on Reddit's WallStreetBets forum behind the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and Nvidia (NVDA), according to web data company Thinknum.
Other heavily shorted stocks that moved higher during the session include Crown ElectroKinetics (CRKN), up more than 70%. The Oregon-based fiber optics and smart glass small-cap company is on pace to end the week up a whopping 915%.
Greenwave Technology Solutions (GWAV) was up more than 500% for the week. The micro-cap, Virginia-based metal recycling company gained 90% on Thursday as the rest of the overall meme rally was unwinding.
And SunPower (SPWR) was on pace to close out the week up 29% after soaring on Monday and Tuesday. The solar-related stock gained 5% on Thursday, decoupling from GameStop's three-day downward spiral.
Hamza Shaban
OpenAI reportedly disbands safety team
OpenAI’s Superalignment team, a unit tasked with wrestling with the long-term risks of sophisticated AI systems, has been effectively disbanded, according to multiple reports, following the departure of the team's founders earlier this week.
OpenAI is now spreading the team's efforts to other parts of the company, Bloomberg reports. The move comes after a string of high-profile exits and leaves lingering questions about the AI company's approach to safety and balancing its work to monetize AI initiatives.
OpenAI co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who had previously clashed with CEO Sam Altman, said he was leaving the company on Tuesday.
The recent shakeups come after last year's high profile ouster of Altman, who disagreed with members of the board over questions over how to safey advance AI. He was eventually reinstated.
The superalignment team, which was stood up last July, was focused on ensuring the safety of highly capable AI systems that some believe could eventually outsmart humans. At the time, OpenAI said it would dedicate 20% of its computer power towards the team's work.
Hamza Shaban
Stocks trending in afternoon trading
Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during afternoon trading on Friday.
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO): The video game developer that owns publishers Rockstar Games and 2K rose by 1% during afternoon trading after revealing that the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI will be released in the fall of 2025. The company also disclosed that it expects net bookings for the fiscal year to come in at $5.55 billion to $5.65 billion, down from the $8 billion it previously projected, although some analysts said the updated launch date for the flagship title gives investors fresh clarity.
Cracker Barrel (CBRL): Shares of the Southern-themed restaurant and gift shop fell by 12% after the company cut its dividend plans by nearly 80%. The announcement comes as the chain switches its focus to upgrading the brand and physical locations.
Reddit (RDDT): The forum-based social network gained more than 14% during morning trading following news of a partnership with OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind the popular ChatGPT. As part of the deal, OpenAI will become an advertising partner for Reddit and will give Reddit the ability to use OpenAI's technology to build tools and features. In turn, ChatGPT will integrate Reddit's content into its system.
Hamza Shaban
Stocks tread water in afternoon trading
The major indexes are close to where they started in afternoon trading Friday as Wall Street's bid to push the Dow past 40,000 pauses, at least momentarily.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) held just below the key milestone after touching the level for the first time during Thursday's trading. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped just under the flatline, but all the gauges were on track for weekly wins.
Jennifer Schonberger
Fed Chair Jay Powell tests positive for COVID-19
Fed Chair Jerome Powell has tested positive for COVID-19, a central bank spokesperson disclosed on Friday.
The spokesperson said Powell received the diagnosis Friday, saying he tested positive “late yesterday “and is experiencing symptoms.”
The Fed noted that Powell would no longer be attending Georgetown University’s Law School graduation, where he was scheduled to deliver remarks in person this Sunday. Instead he will do so via a pre-recorded video.
"Following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, he is staying away from others and working at home," the Fed said in a statement. Powell has tested positive for the virus before, in 2023.
The video game retailer said it expects sales to be in the range of $872 million-$892 million in its fiscal first quarter, down from $1.24 billion in the same period a year prior. Wall Street had expected revenue of just over $1 billion for the quarter, according to data from Bloomberg.
With Friday's decline, the stock is now below where it opened Monday morning after the reemergence of Keith Gill, also known as "Roaring Kitty," on X, formerly Twitter, over the weekend. Gill's bull case for GameStop ignited the meme stock rally back in 2021, and the stock more than doubled by Tuesday morning.
"I'm not seeing anything in the preannouncement that tells me that the business is turning around," Wedbush managing director Michael Pachter told Yahoo Finance. "But at least they'll raise enough cash to last them another three or four years if they, in fact, continue to fail and try to find a new strategy."
Hamza Shaban
Reddit's stock surges after deal with OpenAI
By signing a major partnership with OpenAI, the AI company behind ChatGPT, Reddit (RDDT) scored a major victory in its plans to sell its unique archive of posts to companies eager for troves of content to train their large language models.
On Friday, shares of the forum-based social media company rose more than 14% as investors cheered on the deal. The partnership will bring Reddit content into ChatGPT and OpenAI's new products, drawing from Reddit's data to give the chatbot real-time content on recent topics.
In turn, Reddit will receive AI-powered features for redditors and moderators, the company said in an announcement Thursday. OpenAI will also become an advertising partner on Reddit, boosting the company's main source of revenue.
“Reddit has become one of the internet’s largest open archives of authentic, relevant, and always up-to-date human conversations about anything and everything. Including it in ChatGPT upholds our belief in a connected internet, helps people find more of what they’re looking for, and helps new audiences find community on Reddit," said Steve Huffman, Reddit co-founder and CEO.
Reddit (RDDT): The forum-based social network gained more than 14% during morning trading following news of a partnership with OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind the popular ChatGPT. As part of the deal, OpenAI will become an advertising partner for Reddit and will give Reddit the ability to use OpenAI's technology to build tools and features. In turn, ChatGPT will integrate Reddit's content into its system.
Robinhood (HOOD): The financial services company popular with retail stock traders rose 6% Friday morning following a double upgrade from Bank of America, from Underperform to Buy. Analysts pointed to rebounding retail engagement and a broader trend toward mobile trading that the young company stands to benefit from.
Cracker Barrel (CBRL): Shares of the restaurant chain fell by nearly 15% after the company cut its dividend plans by nearly 80%. The announcement comes as the Southern-themed eatery and gift store switches its focus to upgrading its brand and physical locations.
Hamza Shaban
Stocks little changed as Dow reaches for 40,000
The major indexes didn't move much at the open Friday as Wall Street was poised for the Dow to make another attempt at surpassing a key milestone of 40,000.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) held steady on the heels of touching the level for the first time during Thursday's trading. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.1% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also gained 0.1%, with all the gauges on track for positive ends to the week.
Reddit stock pops premarket on OpenAI deal
Reddit stock (RDDT) is up 14% premarket on a new deal with OpenAI whereby OpenAI will gain access to Reddit's data to help build out its models.
This deal shouldn't come as a surprise to Reddit investors — the company recently struck a similar deal with Alphabet (GOOGL). Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman told me last week that more deals like this are likely as part of the platform's reinvention.
In recent times, the Singapore market has faced a backdrop of global financial uncertainties, highlighted by significant events such as the collapse of Terraform Labs which reverberated through the cryptocurrency and broader financial sectors. Such turbulent conditions underscore the importance of stability and reliability in investment choices, qualities often attributed to high-yield dividend stocks.
Huawei Technologies' mobile platform HarmonyOS has overtaken Apple's iOS to become the second-biggest mobile operating system in mainland China in the first quarter, according to the latest market data from Counterpoint Research. HarmonyOS accounted for a 17 per cent share in the first quarter to surpass iOS for the first time in the world's biggest smartphone market, as strong domestic demand for Huawei's latest 5G handsets drove up adoption of the Shenzhen-based company's self-developed mobile
Elon Musk's pay deal — worth up to $56 billion -—has now been approved by Tesla shareholders. Yet investors and analysts Yahoo Finance spoke to are feeling mixed about the future of the electric car company.
Microsoft, Nvidia, Google, Amazon.com, and Meta Platforms have collectively surged by 45% and now comprise 25% of the S&P 500 equity cap, the brokerage said in a note after markets closed on Friday. The upgraded target reflects an upside of about 3.1% to the index's last close of 5,431.60. The brokerage expects roughly unchanged real yields by the year-end and strong earnings growth to support a 15x P/E for the equal-weight S&P 500 Index.
BEIJING (Reuters) -China's May industrial output lagged expectations and a slowdown in the property sector showed no signs of easing despite policy support, adding pressure on Beijing to shore up growth. Apart from retail sales that beat forecasts due to a holiday boost, the flurry of data on Monday was largely downbeat, underscoring a bumpy recovery for the world's second-largest economy. May industrial output grew 5.6% from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed, slowing from the 6.7% pace in April and below expectations for a 6.0% increase in a Reuters poll of analysts.
TOKYO (Reuters) -The dollar was firm on Monday as the euro hovered near a more than one-month low amid political turmoil in Europe, while investors awaited fresh clues on the strength of the U.S. economy. Investors have been contemplating the risk of a budget crisis at the heart of the euro area, as far right and leftist parties gain momentum ahead of France's surprise parliamentary election, pressuring President Emmanuel Macron's centrist administration. Even after the French financial markets endured a brutal sell-off late last week, European Central Bank policymakers have no plans to discuss emergency purchases of French bonds, five sources told Reuters.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda may be in no danger of not being re-elected at the automaker's annual general meeting on Tuesday, but any further big drop in shareholder support could lead to increased action on governance reforms. This year's AGM will follow scandals involving violations of certification tests at Toyota and its group companies including compact car maker Daihatsu and truck unit Hino Motors. Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis have recommended that Toyoda not be re-elected, citing concerns over governance and the board's independence.
The Wall Street debate about the rise of private credit is getting louder, with major figures from the biggest financial institutions disagreeing about risks and opportunities.
The monthly Chinese 'data dump' kicks off the global trading week on Monday, with the slew of top-tier indicators likely to give investors a measure of how much the world's second largest economy is struggling to gain momentum. Producer and consumer prices last week confirmed that the threat of deflation still hangs over China, and retail sales, business investment, industrial production, and house price figures on Monday will give a clearer picture of economic activity. China's central bank is widely expected to leave a key policy rate unchanged when rolling over maturing medium-term loans on Monday, with worsening interest margins and a weakening currency hampering authorities' ability to ease policy.
A muted start to the week in Asia with Chinese data too mixed to provide much momentum as political uncertainty in Europe lurks in the background. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) kept its one-year rate unchanged, dashing some speculation of a cut following surprisingly soft bank lending data. China's official Financial News on Monday reported there was still room to lower rates, but there were internal and external constraints on policy.
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