Wall Street Rally Pauses, Tesla Heads For Strongest Week In 6 Months: What's Driving Markets Friday?

Wall Street's three-day rally came to a pause on Friday, with major indices hovering near the flatline by midday in New York as caution returned amid mixed signals on U.S.-China trade relations.

President Donald Trump claimed to have held a phone call with President Xi Jinping, yet Chinese officials denied that any talks had taken place.

Tesla Inc. TSLA extended its rally into a fourth consecutive session, notching its best weekly performance of the year with a 16% gain. On Thursday afternoon, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy introduced a new regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles, saying it aimed to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and advance toward a unified national standard.

T-Mobile US Inc. TMUS was the biggest laggard of the day, falling 11%, on track for its worst single-day loss since March 2020. This came despite better-than-expected earnings, as its core wireless business posted slower growth than analysts had projected.

Among sectors, consumer discretionary led gains, buoyed by Tesla's 8% gain, while materials underperformed.

In fixed income, Treasury yields declined for a fourth straight session, underscoring how critical Trump's early-week reassurance — that he would not dismiss Fed Chair Jerome Powell — was for bond market sentiment.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped 4 basis points to 4.27%, on course for its lowest close since April 8.

In commodities, gold slid 2%, oil held steady at $62 per barrel, and natural gas rose 1% to $3 per million British thermal units, snapping a 10-session losing streak.

In crypto markets, Bitcoin BTC/USD rose 1.2% to $95,000.

Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY flattened at $546.92.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA eased 0.5% to $399.23.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ fell 0.2% to $468.61.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM fell 0.7% to $192.79.
• The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY outperformed, up 1.1%; the Materials Care Select Sector SPDR Fund XLB lagged, down 1.1%.

Friday’s Stock Movers

Stocks reacting to earnings report included:

• Alphabet Inc. GOOGL: up 1.7%
• T-Mobile US Inc.: down 10.9%
• AbbVie Inc. ABBV: up 2.4%
• Intel Corporation INTC: down 7.2%
• Gilead Sciences Inc. GILD: down 3.2%
• Aon plc AON: down 11.0%
• Republic Services Inc. RSG: down 0.2%
• Digital Realty Trust Inc. DLR: up 3.0%
• HCA Healthcare Inc. HCA: down 5.2%
• Charter Communications Inc. CHTR: up 10.3%
• The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. HIG: down 1.1%
• Weyerhaeuser Company WY: down 2.1%
• Colgate-Palmolive Company CL: up 1.1%
• Centene Corporation CNC: down 7.7%
• LyondellBasell Industries N.V. LYB: up 0.0%
• VeriSign Inc. VRSN: up 9.1%
• Phillips 66 PSX: down 2.0%
• Carrier Global Corporation CARR: down 0.5%
• Schlumberger Limited SLB: down 0.7%
• Erie Indemnity Company ERIE: down 11.8%
• Principal Financial Group Inc. PFG: down 1.4%
• Eastman Chemical Company EMN: down 6.0%
• Healthpeak Properties Inc. DOC: down 4.7%

Read now:

• Goldman Sachs Upgrades Charles Schwab To Buy: ‘One Of The Best Earnings Growth Outlooks,’ Analyst Says

Photo: Shutterstock