NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are adding to their records on Friday as Wall Street cruises toward the finish of another winning week.
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% and is heading toward the close of its seventh winning week in the last nine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 439 points, or 0.9%, as of 1:30 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite gave up and early gain and slipped 0.1%. All three indexes are coming off all-time highs set the day before.
Treasury yields were holding relatively steady in the bond market following mixed reports on activity for U.S. businesses in the health care, real estate and other services industries. One report from the Institute for Supply Management said growth in activity is stalling, while another from S&P Global said it’s still growing slowly.
Usually, the first Friday of each month has Wall Street transfixed on the monthly jobs update that the U.S. government publishes. It shows how many jobs employers created and destroyed, while also updating the unemployment rate.
So far, the U.S. stock market has looked past such delays, which also includes Thursday’s report on unemployment claims. Past shutdowns of the U.S. government have tended not to hurt the economy or stock market much, and the thinking is that this one could be similar, even if President Donald Trump has threatened large-scale firings of federal workers this time around.
That leaves excitement around artificial intelligence and the massive spending underway because of it as one of the drivers of the U.S. stock market, which has been setting record after record.
The industry got another boost after Japan’s Hitachi signed a memorandum of understanding with OpenAI related to powering AI. It followed a set of announcements by OpenAI with South Korean companies the day before. Hitachi’s stock jumped 10.3% in Tokyo.
But AI stocks have become so dominant, and so much money has poured into the industry that worries are rising about a potential bubble that could eventually lead to disappointment for investors.
On the losing end of Wall Street was Applied Materials, which sank 2.2%. The company, whose equipment helps make semiconductor chips, said it will take a roughly $110 million hit to its revenue in the fourth quarter because of a new U.S. Commerce Department rule expanding export restrictions to certain customers based in China.
Oil producers rose as the price of crude clawed back some of its sharp losses from earlier in the week, taken because of worries that the amount of oil in inventories will be too high relative to demand. Exxon Mobil climbed 2% and was one of the stronger forces lifting the S&P 500.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was a big winner, and rose 1.9% thanks in part to Hitachi’s jump.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.10%, where it was late Thursday.
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AP Writers Teresa Cerojano and Matt Ott contributed.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
The Federal Reserve will almost certainly cut its key interest rate on Wednesday and could signal it expects another cut in December as the central bank seeks to bolster hiring. A cut Wednesday would be the second this year and could benefit consumers by bringing down borrowing costs for mortgages and auto loans. Since Fed chair Jerome Powell strongly signaled in late August that rate cuts were likely this year, the average 30-year mortgage rate has fallen to about 6.2% from 6.6%. Still, the Fed is navigating an unusual period for the U.S. economy and its future moves are harder to anticipate than is typically the case.
Stocks are rallying toward more records ahead of a week packed with potentially market-moving events. The S&P 500 rose 1% Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 224 points, and the Nasdaq composite jumped 1.7%. Stocks also climbed in Asia ahead of a meeting on Thursday between the heads of the United States and China. The hope is that the talks could clear rising tensions between the world’s two largest economies. This upcoming week will feature profit reports from some of Wall Street's most influential companies and a meeting by the Federal Reserve on interest rates. Gold fell back toward $4,000 per ounce.
U.S. and Chinese officials say a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies is drawing closer. The sides have reached an initial consensus for President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to aim to finalize during their high-stakes meeting Thursday in South Korea. Any agreement would be a relief to international markets. Trump's treasury secretary says discussions with China yielded preliminary agreements to stop the precursor chemicals for fentanyl from coming into the United States. Scott Bessent also says Beijing would make “substantial” purchases of soybean and other agricultural products while putting off export controls on rare earth elements needed for advanced technologies.
Some seniors say the Social Security Administration's cost-of-living adjustment won’t help much in their ability to pay for their daily expenses. The agency announced Friday the annual cost-of-living adjustment will go up by 2.8% in 2026, translating to an average increase of more than $56 for retirees every month. Eighty-year-old Florence, South Carolina, resident Linda Deas says it does not match the current "affordability crisis.” The benefits increase will go into effect for Social Security recipients beginning in January. Friday’s announcement was meant to be made last week but was delayed because of the federal government shutdown. Recipients got a 2.5% COLA boost in 2025 and a 3.2% increase in 2024.
Wall Street is heading for records after an update said U.S. households are feeling a bit less pain from inflation than feared. The S&P 500 climbed 1% Friday and was on track to top its all-time high set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 529 points, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1.3%. Both are also heading toward records. The inflation data could clear the way for the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates in hopes of helping the slowing job market. A strong earnings reports from Ford Motor and continued gains for AI stars also drove stocks higher.
