US equities opened on a mixed note Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipping about 90 points (0.18%) in early trading, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.33%. The moves come a day after Wall Street's strongest session since early August, which was fueled by a rebound in tech shares and easing Treasury yields.
Thursday's rebound in context
The Federal Reserve's first rate hike in three years rattled markets on Wednesday, but Thursday brought a sharp recovery. The Dow climbed 316.14 points (0.61%) to close at 51,778.04, the S&P 500 advanced 1.14% to 7,637.76, and the Nasdaq jumped 1.69% to 26,418.30. Falling Treasury yields and cooling oil prices, along with gains in Nvidia, Amazon, and Microsoft, drove the bounce.
Yields stay elevated
Despite Thursday's relief, the 10-year Treasury yield rose more than 3 basis points to 4.98% on Friday morning. It had climbed above 5% earlier this week—its highest level since July 2007—before easing back. Elevated yields continue to weigh on stocks, even as the market attempts to stabilize.
Buffett steps back at Berkshire
Berkshire Hathaway announced Friday that Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman, transitioning to chairman emeritus while remaining on the board to advise. His son, Howard Buffett, will assume the chairman role, a succession long anticipated by the company. Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods expect some pressure on Berkshire's shares following the announcement. Buffett has led Berkshire since 1965, delivering a 19.7% compounded annual return—roughly double the S&P 500's return over that period.
Triple witching adds to the mix
Friday is also a "triple witching" day, when stock options, stock index futures, and index options all expire simultaneously. This quarterly event, occurring on the third Friday of March, June, September, and December, often leads to unusually heavy trading volume and sharp late-session index swings unrelated to fundamental news.
Netflix slides on downgrade; Intel and IREN gain
Netflix shares fell more than 5% after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight—its first-ever sell-equivalent rating on the streaming giant—and slashed its price target to $57 from $80. The downgrade contrasts with a recent target hike from Evercore that had lifted shares earlier.
Intel rose 0.6% to $109.54, extending a rally that began Wednesday on reports of exploratory talks with SK Hynix about manufacturing memory chips in the US, potentially through Intel's planned Ohio fab. IREN gained about 2.6% after Northland Capital initiated coverage, adding to the growing list of AI-infrastructure names drawing Wall Street attention this week.
Elsewhere in markets
Gold futures rose 0.41% to $4,356.69 an ounce, while silver futures jumped 1.89% to $66.42 an ounce. In Asia, chipmakers including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rallied following a bullish outlook from Nvidia, helping lift the MSCI Asia equities gauge by 0.8%. The broader market remains sensitive to yield movements and oil price swings, with investors watching for further Fed signals.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
