Stocks Stall As Chip Sector Struggles To Rebound; Dollar Eyes 7-Week Peak, Gold, Bitcoin Retreat: What's Driving Markets Friday?

Wall Street is experiencing a subdued and low volatility trading day Friday, despite the session coinciding with the “triple witching” day, with over $5.1 trillion of notional options exposure expiring, surpassing the previous record set in December 2023.

Chipmakers continue to struggle in the aftermath of Thursday’s sell-off, suggesting that while the wave of profit-taking is easing, there is little sign of new buyers stepping in at these levels.

Nvidia Corp. is down 1.6%, poised to break an eight-week winning streak. The sector benchmark, the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX, is witnessing its worst two-day performance since May 1.

The major indices and sectors remained flat, while biotech stocks showed the strongest performance among industries, with the iShares Biotechnology ETF IBB up 1.9%. Treasury yields were stable, with the 10-year at 4.26%.

On the macro front, S&P Global reported the strongest growth in U.S. private sector activity in two years, surpassing analyst expectations.

Gold saw a decline of 1.4%, reversing Thursday’s positive performance. Bitcoin BTC/USD fell 1.8%, heading for its fifth consecutive session of losses, marking the longest losing streak since October 2023.

Oil prices retreated below $81 per barrel, ending a streak of three consecutive sessions of gains.

Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.4% lower to $544.76.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA was 0.2% lower to $391.50.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (ARCA: QQQ) was 0.1% lower to $480.81.
• Sector-wise, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC outperformed, up by 0.4%, while the Financials Select Sector SPDR Fund XLF lagged, falling 0.5%.

Friday’s Stock Movers

• Serepta Therapeutics Inc. SRPT rocketed by over 30% after the company announced expanded U.S. FDA approval of ELEVIDYS for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patients ages 4 and above.
• Hertz Global Holdings Inc. HTZ rose over 14%, mimicking Thursday’s move, after the car rental company upsized its bond offering to $1 billion to finance a fleet refresh.
• FactSet Research Systems Inc. FDS rose 4% following stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings. CarMax Inc. KMX was 1% higher in reactions to quarterly results.

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Photo created using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.