WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the upside early in the session, stocks have given back ground over the course of the trading day on Friday. The major averages have pulled back well off their early highs and into negative territory.
Currently, the major averages are posting modest losses. The Dow is down 119.44 points or 0.3 percent at 41,249.01, the Nasdaq is down 24.02 points or 0.1 percent at 17,904.12 and the S&P 500 is down 5.68 points or 0.1 percent at 5,658.26.
The early strength on Wall Street came amid optimism about a potential U.S.-China trade deal ahead of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's talks with Chinese officials in Switzerland this weekend.
A Bloomberg report citing people familiar said the U.S. is hoping to slash its China tariffs to below 60 percent from the current level of at least 145 percent during the weekend talks.
However, President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that a higher '80% Tariff on China seems right,' partly offsetting the positive sentiment.
While Trump also said many trade deals are 'in the hopper,' traders remain cautious even after yesterday's announcement of the framework of a U.S.-U.K. trade deal.
Among individual stocks, shares of The Trade Desk (TTD) have skyrocketed by 21.7 percent after the digital marketing company reported better than expected first quarter results.
Microchip Technology (MCHP) has also spiked by 13.2 percent after the chipmaker reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings in line with estimates and provided upbeat guidance for the current quarter.
On the other hand, shares of Affirm Holdings (AFRM) have plunged by 13.8 percent after the buy now, pay later company reported an unexpected fiscal third quarter profit but provided disappointing revenue guidance for the current quarter.
Travel booking platform Expedia (EXPE) has also tumbled by 7.8 percent after reporting first quarter revenue that missed estimates and issued soft guidance
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets, most of the major sectors are showing only modest moves on the day.
Gold stocks have shown a strong move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index jumping by 2.0 percent. The strength among gold stocks comes amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.
Telecom, oil service and networking stocks are also seeing some strength on the day, while biotechnology and steel stocks have moved to the downside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged by 1.6 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing modest strength after moving sharply lower in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 1.4 basis points at 4.359 percent.
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