Wall Street kept driving equity valuations higher on Friday, extending the momentum from Thursday when all major U.S. benchmarks closed at record highs following the Federal Reserve’s rate cut.
Tech continued to outperform, fueled by ongoing AI enthusiasm. The Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and Dow Jones each advanced 0.5%, 0.3%, and 0.2%, respectively, setting fresh peaks. The Russell 2000, however—after breaking its November 2024 high the previous day—slipped 0.4%.
President Donald Trump said he had a “very productive” call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding he plans to visit China early next year, with Xi expected to make a reciprocal trip to the U.S. at a later date.
Among mega-cap movers, Apple Inc. AAPL jumped 3.1% on strong demand for the new iPhone 17. In China, preorders topped those of the iPhone 16 in just one minute. Apple shares climbed above $245, reaching their highest level since late February 2025.
Intel Corp. INTC slipped 2.5% after soaring 23% on Thursday, when Nvidia announced a $5 billion deal to buy a 5% stake in the company.
Precious metals regained momentum on rate-cut expectations. Gold rose 0.7% to $3,670, while silver rallied more than 2% to $42.67—its fifth straight monthly gain.
Cryptocurrencies reversed Thursday’s blowout surge. Bitcoin BTC/USD fell 1% to around $116,000, and Solana SOL/USD tumbled 4.5%.
Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs
According to Benzinga Pro data:
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO rose 0.3% to $610.62.
The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA inched 0.1% higher to $462.34.
The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ rose 0.5% to $598.19.
The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM slipped to $243.41.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up 0.7%; the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE lagged, down 1.4%.
S&P 500’s Top 5 Movers
S&P 500’s Top 5 Losers
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