US stock market indices showed a positive opening on Friday, largely attributed to strong financial results from tech giant Amazon Inc. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index opened with a significant 1.40% increase, adding 329.23 points to reach 23,910.38. The S&P 500 also saw upward movement, rising 0.67% or 45.69 points to begin trading at 6,868.03. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a modest gain of 0.16%, or 74.11 points, reaching 47,596.23.
As trading progressed, the indices began to show varied performance. By 7:40 p.m., the Nasdaq was trading 0.93% higher, while the S&P 500 showed a 0.40% increase, and the Dow Jones remained relatively flat.
Amazon’s impressive earnings report spurred its stock to rise nearly 12%, trading at $249.32 shortly after the market opened. Other technology stocks had mixed performances; Intel Corp.’s shares increased by 0.31% to $40.30, while Meta Platforms faced a decline of 1.53%, trading at $658. Microsoft Corp. also saw a drop of 1%, with shares trading at $520.29.
Sector performance presented a contrast in the marketplace. Six out of the eleven sectoral indices were lower, with the materials sector leading the losses. In contrast, the consumer discretionary sector drove gains, alongside a positive performance from the Information Technology sector.
In commodities, spot gold prices fell slightly by 0.13%, reaching $4,019.61 per ounce. On the oil front, crude prices experienced a rise, with West Texas Intermediate oil trading 0.31% higher at $60.74 per barrel and Brent crude up 0.26% at $60.76 per barrel.
The Bloomberg Dollar Index showed an increase of 0.2%. The British Pound slipped by 0.4% to $1.31, while the Euro declined 0.3% to $1.1534. The Japanese yen remained nearly unchanged at 154.20 per dollar. Additionally, Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, gained 1.9%, trading at $109,512.48.
