S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, Dow End Week Higher With Traders Eyeing Earnings Season - MSFT, NFLX, SPCX, ASTS In Focus

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

• The S & P 500 ended Friday 0.6% higher, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8%.
• President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to supply diesel to both the U.S. and global markets.
• Elon Musk-led SpaceX announced a deal to buy a nationwide telecom spectrum. 

U.S. stock indices ended higher on Friday as technology stocks recovered from previous session losses and investors prepare for the start of earnings season next week, with big banks releasing their quarterly results. 

The S & P 500 ended Friday 0.6% higher, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8%. The Russell 2000, which tracks small-cap stocks, ended 0.5% higher.

The SPDR S & P 500 ETF (SPY) rose 0.5%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) added 0.8%, and the Nasdaq-100 tracking Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.5%. 

Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) fell around 0.5%, tracking weakness in Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Intel (INTC) and Micron Tech (MU). The broader Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) rose 0.7%.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for QQQ, SPY, and DIA was 'bullish' with 'high' message volumes.

US Market Drivers

Index	Move	Close
Dow Jones Industrial Average	0.8%	51,654.95
S & P 500	0.6%	7,811.54
Nasdaq 100	0.5%	30,883.15

Equity markets touched session highs after President Donald Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to supply diesel through domestic and international channels. Crude prices-which settled slightly in the green, with West Texas Intermediate futures hovering near $92 per barrel and Brent crude futures topping $104-eased back in after-hours trading after the statement.

SpaceX stock rose 1% after the Elon Musk-led aerospace giant disclosed an agreement to acquire nationwide spectrum assets. Conversely, shares of telecom heavyweights AT & T (T), Verizon (VZ), and T-Mobile (TMUS) retreated on concerns that the acquisition might intensify industry competition.

Traders' focus would now shift to earnings season to judge if elevated interest rates translate to better interest margins for banks or affect overall credit growth, and if strong tech results would be enough to impress investors looking for more than an earnings beat along with an overall robust revenue and profit guidance for the upcoming quarter. 

“I believe corporate earnings remain remarkably strong,” Bob Edwards at Edwards Asset Management told CNBC. 

Key Trending Stocks

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) announced Friday the launch of a specialized artificial intelligence system designed to execute rapid, automated decisions, marking a strategic pivot toward lower-cost, highly targeted AI tools for enterprise workflows. 

Shares of AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) sold off Friday after SpaceX agreed to buy low-band spectrum the firm also wanted, even as CEO Abel Avellan said U.S. carrier partners already hold about 1,000 MHz that can be tuned to its satellites. 

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) is preparing to lay off about 5% of its global workforce as early as next week, according to a report by media newsletter Puck. 

Moderna (MRNA) shares jumped Friday, hitting a new 52-week high as the stock returned to the Nasdaq-100 and investors priced in a reported national push on cancer vaccines. 

Anterix (ATEX), NextNav (NN) and Gogo (GOGO) could benefit from rising demand for wireless spectrum following SpaceX's (SPCX) reported $8 billion acquisition of Grain Management's low-band frequencies, according to Roth Capital. 

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