WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving mostly lower over the course of the previous session, stocks moved back to the upside during trading on Friday. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 more than offset yesterday's losses, reaching new record closing highs.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, jumping 398.09 points or 1.6 percent to 24,836.60, while the S&P 500 advanced 56.68 points or 0.8 percent to 7,165.08.
The narrower Dow, on the other hand, bucked the uptrend and dipped 79.61 points or 0.2 percent to 49,230.71 amid steep losses by Merck (MRK) and Verizon (VZ).
For the week, the Nasdaq shot up by 1.5 percent and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.6 percent, but the Dow fell by 0.4 percent.
The rebound by the broader markets came amid a spike by shares of Intel (INTC), with the semiconductor giant soaring by more than 23 percent to a record closing high.
Intel skyrocketed the chipmaker reported much better than expected first quarter earnings and forecast second quarter revenues above analyst estimates.
Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble (PG) also showed a significant move to the upside after reporting fiscal third quarter results that exceeded expectations.
Buying interest was also generated in reaction to a pullback by the price of crude oil, which has soared over the past few sessions.
U.S. crude oil futures have slumped by more than 1 percent after a report from Reuters said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will arrive in Pakistan tonight for peace talks with the U.S.
Araghchi himself mentioned through X that his trip is focused on bilateral matters and regional developments though he did not give much detail.
According to CNN, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner will likely represent the U.S. though Vice President JD Vance will step in if needed.
President Donald Trump's announcement of a three-week extension of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has also weighed on crude oil prices.
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks have moved sharply higher amid the spike by Intel, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surging by 4.3 percent to a new record closing high.
Considerable strength was also visible among gold stocks amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 2.3 percent.
Software stocks also showed a strong move back to the upside following Thursday's slump, resulting in a 2.1 percent jump by the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index.
Oil service stocks and computer hardware stocks also saw notable strength, while telecom, pharmaceutical and banking stocks showed significant moves 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 jumped by 1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index dipped by 0.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both slid by 0.8 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved modestly higher over the course of the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.3 basis points to 4.310 percent.
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