Lucas Jackson/Reuters
- US stocks climbed on Friday, recovering a portion of Thursday’s market sell-off that was led by technology stocks.
- Absent a strong Friday rally, stocks are set to record their first back-to-back week of losses since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic was front and center in investors’ minds.
- Oil fell as investors continued to digest a report from the American Petroleum Institute that said US stockpiles increased by nearly 3 million barrels. West Texas Intermediate crude sank as much as 1.7%, to $36.67 per barrel.
- Watch major indexes update live here.
US stocks climbed on Friday, helping to recover a portion of Thursday’s stock market sell-off that was led by technology stocks.
Tech stocks spearheaded gains on Friday amid volatile trading as investors sized up better-than-expected earnings from Peloton and Oracle.
But Friday’s initial jump higher in the futures markets won’t be enough to prevent another week of losses for investors. All three major indexes are on track to record back-to-back weekly losses for the first time since early March, when the COVID-19 pandemic was front and center in investors’ minds.
Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET market open on Friday:
- S&P 500: 3,354.78, up 0.5%
- Dow Jones industrial average: 27,641.80, up 0.4% (117 points)
- Nasdaq composite: 10,976.01, up 0.5%
Goldman Sachs updated its third-quarter GDP forecast on Thursday to 35% annualized growth, prompted by a stronger-than-expected August jobs report. The US added 1.37 million jobs in August, more than an expected addition of 1.35 million jobs.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect third-quarter GDP expansion of 21%.
Peloton surged on Friday after the fitness company cruised to its first quarterly profit on the back of increased spending on its bikes and treadmills during the COVID-19 pandemic. Oracle also posted a strong quarter of earnings growth, surpassing analyst expectations thanks to increased demand for its cloud services.
Spot gold rose 0.3%, to $1,952.22 per ounce. The precious metal has remained in a narrow trading range of $1,900 to $2,000. Both the US dollar and Treasury yields traded flat on Friday.
Oil extended its decline from Thursday as investors digested reports of depressed demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic and of increased supply from US oil producers. West Texas Intermediate crude sank as much as 1.7%, to $36.67 per barrel. Brent crude, oil’s international standard, fell 1.7%, to $39.38 per barrel, at intraday lows.
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