Stocks Sell Off, Gold Rallies On Tariff Turmoil, Weak Jobs Data: What's Moving Markets Friday?

It's a rough start to the new month for Wall Street, as major U.S. stock indices plunged by midday Friday, setting the stage for a negative weekly close.

• SPY ETF is breaking past support. Check the chart here.

Trade war concerns resurfaced after President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on countries without a formal trade agreement with the U.S. Key levies include 25% on imports from India, 39% from Switzerland, 20% from Taiwan, 30% from South Africa, 35% on Canadian goods, and a staggering 50% on Brazilian exports.

Risk sentiment soured further following a surprisingly weak jobs report.

While July payrolls rose by 73,000—well below the 110,000 expected—revisions to prior months shocked markets: May and June payrolls were slashed by a combined 258,000 — the largest downward revision since 2020 — pointing to deeper cracks in the labor market than previously thought.

The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 6,260, the Nasdaq 100 slid 1.3% to 22,900, and the Dow Jones shed nearly 500 points, or 1.1%.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) spiked 18%, marking its biggest one-day jump since April 10.

Expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September surged. Fed funds futures now imply nearly an 80% chance of a 25-basis-point cut, just two days after the Central Bank left rates unchanged and offered no clear signal for easing next month.

The two-year U.S. Treasury yield tumbled around 20 basis points to 3.75%, posting its largest intraday drop in over a year.

Tech Earnings Mixed, Gold Rallies On Haven Demand

Economic concerns overshadowed corporate earnings. Apple Inc. AAPL beat expectations thanks to a rebound in iPhone sales in China, but Amazon.com Inc. AMZN tanked nearly 8% after issuing soft guidance, in its worst day since April 3.

Even Meta Platforms Inc. META and Microsoft Corp. MSFT, which had surged the day before on strong earnings, experienced sharp pullbacks.

The so-called "Magnificent Seven" tech giants collectively lost around $500 billion in market capitalization in a single session, falling to $18.7 trillion after hitting a record $19.4 trillion just a day earlier.

Gold emerged as the day's top-performing asset, jumping 1.8% to $3,450 per ounce, as investors sought safety amid tariff tensions and growing Fed rate cut bets. Silver followed with a more modest gain of 0.5% to $36.89.

The U.S. dollar snapped a six-day winning streak, with the DXY index dropping 1.1%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin BTC/USD held steady near $115,000.

Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF VOO dropped 1.2% at $573.85.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA fell 1% to $436.78.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ sank 1.4% to $557.14.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM slipped 1.5% to $216.24.
• The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund XLP outperformed, up 0.8%; the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE lagged, down 1.8%.

Friday’s Stock Movers

Major companies reacting to earnings reports included:

• Apple Inc. down 2.3%
• Amazon.com, Inc. down 7.7%
• Exxon Mobil Corporation XOM down 2.1%
• Chevron Corporation CVX down 0.3%
• Linde plc LIN up 0.0%
• Stryker Corporation SYK down 2.8%
• MercadoLibre, Inc. MELI up 0.6%
• KLA Corporation KLAC up 1.5%
• Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN down 15.0%
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. AJG down 1.7%
• Colgate-Palmolive Company CL down 0.8%
• Ares Management Corporation ARES down 2.8%
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. REGN up 0.2%
• Dominion Energy, Inc. D up 3.6%

Best gainers on earnings:

• Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. MPWR up 12.3%
• First Solar, Inc. FSLR up 6.9%
• Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated HR up 6.7%
• Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB up 4.3%

Major laggards on earnings:

• Eastman Chemical Company EMN down 20.5%
• Roku, Inc. ROKU down 13.5%
• Ingersoll Rand Inc. IR down 11.1%
• Mirion Technologies, Inc. MIR down 10.5%

Read now: Economists Flip To Trump’s Side After Jobs Data–And Jerome Powell Is Now In Trouble

Photo: Shutterstock