4:05pm: US equities close higher thanks to tech
US stocks closed higher as investors turned to tech stocks amid chronic inflation concerns.
Mega-cap technology names provided support to the broader market. Facebook-parent Meta rallied more than 3%. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and each added more than 1%.
On the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 179 points, or 0.50%, to 36,100 and the S&P 500 rose 0.72% to 4,682.
And the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1% to 15,860.
1.00pm: US stocks rise but investors digest earnings and high inflation data
US stocks advanced in afternoon trading with both earnings and inflation data remaining at the center of investor attention.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 145 points, to rise 0.4%, while the tech-dominated Nasdaq edged nearly 0.8% higher. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 28.69 points, or 0.6% to climb to 4,677.
Despite the gains, all three benchmarks are on track for weekly losses, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Investors were focused on electric-vehicle (EV) makers in trading throughout the week, and there have been big swings in those companies.Rivian Automotive, which went public this week in the biggest US initial public offering (IPO) since 2014, rose 3.6%. Rivian traded at around $128 a share in midday trade, well above the $78 initial offering price set Tuesday. On the other hand, investors punished Lordstown Motors stock which dropped 14% Friday after the company reported a loss for the third quarter.
10.15am: Proactive news headlines:
Great Panther Mining closes upsized $23M public underwritten offering
Emmaus Life Sciences posts $5.8M in 3Q revenue as efforts to expand access to Endari sickle cell disease treatment bear fruit
KWESST (TSX-V:KWE, OTCQB:KWEMF) says General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) Land Systems has picked its Phantom electronic decoy for new US military vehicle program
Harbor Custom Development strikes deal to sell 20 lots in Washingston state to Noffke Land Holdings for US$3.8M
Boosh welcomes world champion mountain biker as keynote speaker to Planted Expo
Therma Bright to begin US clinical performance study of its AcuVid COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Saliva Test
CULT Food Science portfolio company MeliBio included in TIME’s Top 100 Inventions of 2021 for bee-free honey
Mednow acquires the license and Canadian distribution rights for genetic testing technology from TruDiagnostic
Esports Entertainment Group announces pricing details for $8M offering
New Pacific Metals (TSX:NUAG, NYSE:NEWP) well positioned with $41.7M to advance its flagship Silver Sand and Carangas projects in Bolivia
BTU Metals announces C$171,000 placing to advance its Red Lake gold project
10.05am: US stocks start higher
US stocks started in positive territory on Friday as investors continue to mull over this week's inflation report, which showed the biggest jump for three decades.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added over 86 points at 36,007 in New York, while the S&P 500 gained around four points at 4,653.
The tech-laden Nasdaq added around 20 points to stand at 15,724.
In company news, US giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) shares rose 1.64% to US$165.43 after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was splitting in two. Reportedly, the firm is breaking off the consumer health division into a separate publicly-traded company.
6.45am: US benchmarks seen starting higher
US stocks are expected to edge higher in opening trade on Friday, but still remain set to snap a five-week winning streak impacted by concerns about stronger than expected inflation and the Federal Reserve's likely reaction.
Futures for the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broader S&P 500 index, and the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 all edged around 0.1% higher. The indexes closed mixed on Thursday, with the Dow losing 0.4% but the S&P 500 rallying 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite adding less than 0.1%.
The S&P 500 has fallen 1% so far this week, breaking a series of gains that kicked off when US companies began to report strong earnings in mid-October.
Falls in recent sessions came after CPI data showed inflation rose to a three-decade high in October. Worries that inflation will last longer than central bankers had forecast prompted fears the Federal Reserve would raise borrowing costs by next summer.
Traders in federal-funds futures are assigning a more-than a 70% probability to a rate rise by June 2022, according to CME Group, up from just over 50% a week ago.
Investors will have some data to ponder on Friday with the Labor Department publishing its latest JOLT job openings at 10.00am and the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index to be released around 9.45am.
The US bond market reopened after a break for Veterans Day on Thursday, with the yield on for the benchmark 10-year Treasury notes rising.