4:10pm: Dow flat at the close
Stronger-than-expected US economic data saw the Nasdaq finish Friday's trading session 1.1% higher at 16,920 points and the S&P 500 up 0.7% at 5,304 points.
The Dow Jones finished the day flat at 39,069 after recording its worst session of the year on Thursday.
Chipmaker Nvidia finished the week at $1,064, having added another 2.6% on Friday following its blockbuster quarterly earnings report.
US markets will be closed on Monday for the Memorial Day federal holiday.
11:55am: In the green
US stocks moved higher at noon on stronger-than-expected US business data, led by the tech-laden Nasdaq which had added 1% at 16,909 points.
The S&P 500 was up 0.7% at 5,302 points and the Dow Jones added 0.2% at 39,145 points.
"Following a disappointing session in Asia and Europe, US stock indices shrug off risk off sentiment amid this week's 'rates higher for longer' outlook as durable goods orders unexpectedly rise,” IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph said.
Oil and gas prices also ended their recent runs.
"In the course of this week the price of oil dropped by over 3% to a near three-month low amid demand concerns but managed to heave itself into the green ahead of next week's OPEC+'s cancelled in-person ministerial gathering in Vienna as it switches to an online meeting,” Rudolph said.
“US natural gas prices fall by around 2.5% from their five-month peak while the price of gold remains little changed and that of silver rises by around a percentage point ahead of the weekend.”
9.46pm: Wall Street higher
Wall Street enjoyed a positive start as trading got underway on Friday.
The Nasdaq was up 64 points after the opening bell, reversing falls seen on Thursday despite NVIDIA Corp’s rally after beating first-quarter expectations.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 also climbed, by 64 and 18 points respectively, after slipping alongside the Nasdaq earlier on in the week.
Thursday drop “was triggered by expectations the Fed’s first interest rate cut could [be] delayed by several further months, after a much stronger-than-expected US business activity ended a run of soft data releases,” City Index’s Fawad Razaqzada explained.
Attention turned to durable goods orders, due on Friday afternoon, while Federal Reserve governor Cristopher Waller is also set to speak later on.
“Markets [are] hoping for weakness given the ‘good news is bad news’ construct highlighted by yesterday’s PMI release,” Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahony added.
“With the FOMC minutes highlighting a mixed range of views that included the potential to hike rates further, any pop in the core durable goods orders figure could further drive risk-off sentiment given the implications for monetary policy.”
8.16am: Wall Street set to recover
Futures contracts are pointing to a bullish start to Friday for the US markets, with the Nasdaq 100 tipped to open 54 points above yesterday’s close.
The broader S&P 500 index is set to open 15 points higher at 5,283, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had its worst trading session of the year yesterday, is expected to add 41 points.
Following yesterday’s blockbuster earnings report, chipmaker NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, ETR:NVD) is expected to add another percentage point after rally to an all-time high yesterday.
Things are quieter on the company news front today, with attention turning to durable goods orders and consumer sentiment on the macroeconomic calendar.