The Dow Jones Industrial Average and other major stock indexes held solid gains near midday Friday as Wall Street weighed a weaker-than-expected April jobs report and a big jump in Apple shares. Apple was one of the top gainers on the stock market today after the company reported earnings and announced a huge share buyback.
The Nasdaq composite gapped above its 50-day moving average and surged 1.9%. Top gainers in the Nasdaq 100 included Constellation Energy, which gave an early buy signal ahead of next week's earnings report. The stock is just below a conventional entry of 198.83.
The S&P 500 gapped up close to its 50-day line, climbing 1.1%. Homebuilders PulteGroup and D.R. Horton outperformed in the S&P 500 with gains of around 3% each. Falling interest rates fueled the buying.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones index was up 1.1% on the stock market today, surging more than 400 points. Dow component Apple jumped more than 6% after the company reported earnings and announced a $110 billion share buyback, the largest ever for a publicly traded company. Apple also raised its dividend slightly to 25 cents a share.
Amgen Leads Dow; Jobs Report Shows Softness
But Amgen was the biggest gainer among blue chips, surging 13% after the company said it was "very encouraged" with interim results from its obesity drug MariTide. The news wasn't good for weight-loss drug giants Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which fell nearly 3% and 1%, respectively.
Microsoft was another solid gainer on the Dow Jones index Friday, up more than 2%. The stock is consolidating below its 50-day line as it forms a new base.
In economic news, the April jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls up 175,000, well below the Econoday estimate for 243,000. The Federal Reserve has been looking for some softness in the labor market. It finally got it after several months in a row of strong job growth.
Advancers beat decliners on the Nasdaq by about 2-to-1. Winners beat losers on the New York Stock Exchange by nearly 3-to-1.
The 10-year Treasury yield fell more than 6 basis points to around 4.51% after hitting an intraday low of 4.45%.
All Eyes On Palantir Stock Ahead Of Q1 Results
Big Gainers On The Stock Market Today
Toll Brothers was a top gainer in the MarketSurge Growth 250, up nearly 4%.
Meanwhile, more earnings reports were in focus.
Booking Holdings broke out of a downtrend, surging around 3% in strong volume after the company reported a 76% increase in quarterly profit. Revenue increased 17% to just over $4.4 billion.
But the news wasn't so good at competitor Expedia. Shares plunged nearly 14% on the stock market today after the company reported earnings. It cut its full-year revenue outlook to mid-to-high single digits from a prior forecast for about 10% growth.
Block, DraftKings, MercadoLibre Rise
MercadoLibre soared above its 50-day line after the Latin American e-commerce and fintech firm reported another quarter of strong growth. Further, gross merchandise volume sold through its e-commerce marketplace climbed 20% year over year to $11.4 billion.
Square-parent Block rebounded after Wednesday's sharp sell-off but those gains faded. Shares were weak Wednesday on reports federal prosecutors are probing financial transactions at the company. Square stock lost an intraday gain of nearly 9% Friday and was slightly lower after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results.
DraftKings jumped early but then sank more than 2% on news that first-quarter revenue growth accelerated from the fourth quarter, up 53% to just over $1.17 billion. Further, DraftKings forecast full-year revenue of $4.8 billion to $5 billion. The midpoint of the outlook is above the FactSet estimate for $4.822 billion.
In the oil and gas sector, Tidewater soared more than 13% after reporting another quarter of impressive bottom-line and top-line growth.
Follow Ken Shreve on X @IBD_KShreve for more stock market analysis and insight.
