The Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high on Friday as Nvidia's (NASDAQ: NVDA) steller earnings report helped ease some growing market tension surrounding the Federal Reserve's next move for interest rates. The tech-heavy index advanced over 1% to settle at 16,920.79. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked above a positive flatline and S&P 500 Index added 0.7%.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.70% or +36.88 points to 5,304.72
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.01% or +4.33 points to 39,069.59
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +1.10% or +184.76 points to 16,920.79
On the Economic Front:
The University of Michigan's final Consumer Sentiment Index reading for May topped estimates but was ultimately lower than April's print of 77.2 at a reading of 69.1 as consumers continued to worry about their future economic conditions.
Consumers expressed particular concern over labor markets; they expect unemployment rates to rise and income growth to slow," said Joanne Hsu, director of Surveys of Consumers, in a statement. "These deteriorating expectations suggest that multiple factors pose downside risk for consumer spending."
Durable Goods Orders came in much stronger-than-expected in April, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday, signaling a still growing economy despite broader inflation concerns. Monthly orders for long-lasting goods such as appliances and vehicles rose 0.7%, above estimates for a 1% decline but slightly below March's growth of 0.8%. Excluding transportation orders, April's growth rate was 0.4%.
In the News:
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, will meeting on June 2 to determine the alliance's next crude oil production policy, the OPEC Secretariat announced Friday. OPEC+ is currently expected to continue cutting outputs by two million barrels per day until the end of the year, which is its formal policy to date. Nations including Saudi Arabia and Russia have also issued voluntary outputs cuts, and analysts will watch to see if those cuts are expanded.
Wedbush analyst Moshe Katri initiated coverage of restaurant industry fintech company Toast (NYSE: TOST) with an Outperform rating and a $30 price target, implying a roughly 18% upside from Thursday's close.
"Given TOST's robust location expansion in the U.S. (as well as nascent overseas success) and recent improvements in operating and financial metrics, we believe the company is well positioned to post 30% + YOY gross profit and adjusted EBITDA growth in CY24 and CY25, respectively," Katri said in a Thursday note. "Given the company's 340% EBITDA growth in 2024 and our expectation of 30%+ annual EBITDA growth for the foreseeable future (including in 2025), we believe such a multiple is justifiable."
Looking Ahead:
Stocks markets will be closed on Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday in the United States. They will reopen at standard times on Tuesday.