US stocks pushed higher at the open on Friday, extending Thursday’s rebound and paring back losses from earlier in the week.
The S&P 500 was up 0.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 283 points, a gain of 0.6%. The Nasdaq climbed more than 1%, putting it on course to finish the week in positive territory.
Once again, technology did most of the heavy lifting. AI-linked names were firmly back in favour, with Nvidia rising 3.4% and Broadcom up 2.4% as investors returned to the sector after recent volatility.
Oracle jumped 7% after confirming it had signed agreements to form a new US-based TikTok joint venture. Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX will each take a 15% stake in the platform, a structure designed to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States.
Results from individual companies were mixed. Nike fell 9.6% despite reporting a strong quarterly profit, weighed down by tariff concerns. Lamb Weston dropped 19.8% even after beating expectations on both revenue and profit. Winnebago Industries jumped 10.7% after comfortably exceeding analysts’ estimates.
Winnebago Industries surged 10.7% after delivering quarterly profits and revenues that comfortably topped analysts’ estimates.
Markets outside the US were also firmer. Japanese shares rose after the Bank of Japan lifted its benchmark interest rate to the highest level in 30 years. The Nikkei 225 gained 1%, leading advances across major Asian markets. European stocks followed suit, trading higher through the session.
In currency markets, sterling hit a 17-year high against the Japanese yen, as investors looked beyond policy divergence and focused instead on the Bank of England’s cautious tone following its recent rate cut.
In London, the FTSE 100 ended a quiet morning on a stronger note, rising 0.5% by late afternoon. InterContinental Hotels was the biggest mover of the day as the index finally found some momentum.