4:15pm: Dow at record high
US stocks closed mixed on Friday, with the Dow Jones notching another record close.
The Dow added 0.1% at 42,063 while the Nasdaq retreated 0.4% at 17,948 points and the S&P 500 shed 0.2% at 5,702 points.
2:30pm: Cut ‘political,’ says Trump
The Federal Reserve’s decision to cut rates by 50 basis points was politically motivated, according to Republican presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump.
Trump has argued the central bank’s decision aims to help the Democrats stay in power.
"It really is a political move," he said during an interview with Newsmax.
"Most people thought it was going to be half of that number, which probably would have been the right thing to do," Trump added. "So it’s a political move to try and keep somebody in office, but it’s not going to work because the inflation has been so bad."
1:01pm: Traders secure gains
US stocks were mixed in the early afternoon Friday, with the Dow Jones reversing course from earlier in the session to make modest gains.
The Dow added 0.2% at 42,091 points while the Nasdaq shed 0.2% at 17,984 points and the S&P 500 was 0.1% lower at 5,706 points.
End-of-the-week profit taking took a toll on US stocks on Friday, IG senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph observed.
''A combination of quarterly 'triple witching' and end of week profit taking pushed most global stock indices lower, the exception being Japan with the Nikkei 225 rallying by close to 3% as the BoJ holds its rates,” he said.
Meanwhile, gold traded at record highs above $2,600.
"The gold price continues to surge and added another percent to this week's gains with it trading in new record highs around the $2,615 per troy ounce mark," Rudolph said.
"The oil price slid slightly, however, following its 6% gains from its September multi-year lows. Next week's economic calendar is on the light side, beginning on Monday with UK and US manufacturing and services PMIs and culminating with Friday's Fed preferred PCE inflation gauge."
10:45am: Stocks pull back
Shares of parcel delivery company FedEx plunged more than 15% as it warned full earnings would miss its guidance after a difficult first quarter.
FedEx now expects annual earnings per share to be between $20 and $21, against $20 and $22 previously, with revenue growth at a low single-digit percentage.
Recent demand had been weak, the company said, though it was putting up prices to try to offset this.
FedEx’s slump came amid stocks retreating from record highs as excitement about the Fed kicking off its rate cutting cycle fizzled out.
The Nasdaq was down 0.6%, the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and the Dow Jones had slipped 0.1% lower in early trade.
9.08am: Nasdaq falls but Apple surprises
The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4% to 19,761 in opening Friday exchanges, with chipmakers ON Semiconductor and NXP Semiconductor falling 4.3% and 3% respectively.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) was also off to the tune of 1.8%.
Apple, meanwhile, bucked the pre-market trend and added 0.5% despite futures contracts suggesting a fall in equal amounts. It comes as the Apple iPhone 16 nervously goes live on store shelves.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.26% to 41,916 in opening exchanges, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 5,695.
8.28am: tech stocks to fall
US tech stocks are expected to open lower this Friday, with the Nasdaq 100 down 0.13% to 19,809 in pre-market trades.
Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC), the largest of the Nasdaq constituents, is expected to open 0.2% lower on the same day that the new iPhone 16 hits shelves.
Nvidia Corp is expected to open half a percentage point lower.
The Dow Jones industrial Average is tipped to open 01% higher at 42,078, while the broader S&P 500 should open flat.
Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE, ETR:NKE) is is one of the strongest pre-market risers, adding 8% on news that industry veteran Elliott Hill will takeoever from John Donahoe as chief executive.