Investing.com-- The Nasdaq closed at record highs Friday, driven b y ongoing tech strength amid investor expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut rates as soon as June.
At 16:00 ET (21:00 GMT), the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2% to clinch a closing record of 16,428.82. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.8%, or 305 points, S&P 500 fell 0.1%, but both indices also notched a gain for the week.
Fed rate cut hopes remain in play
Jerome Powell didn't deliver any clues on monetary policy during a "Fed Listens" event Friday, but markets continue to rally on bets of rate cuts as soon as June following central bank's dovish rate outlook earlier this week.
The Fed kept interest rates steady and stuck to its projections for at least three rate cuts this year, despite recent stickiness in inflation.
Traders now see a 74% chance of the first rate cut hitting in June, from 56% at the start of this week, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool.
Fedex shines, Lululemon stumbles, Nike disappoints on earnings stage
FedEx (NYSE:FDX) surged over 7% as the delivery and logistics firm clocked stronger-than-expected earnings, and also approved a $5 billion share buyback.
The better-than-expected results were driver by the Fedex's Express business, which "delivered $256 million of operating income compared to our forecast of breakeven performance," UBS said in a note as it lifted its price target on the stock to $340 to from $323.
Nike (NYSE:NKE) sank 7% after the sportswear retailer issued a warning for a decline in first-half revenue as it looks to ramp-up innovation efforts amid competition from upstarts including On and Hoka.
"But until the market sees evidence that new products can grow and scale sufficiently, we think this will remain a hotly-debated stock that will remain stuck in the mud," Wedbush said in a note.
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) slid nearly 16% on weak annual revenue guidance of between $10.7 billion and $10.8 billion, slightly below forecasts for $10.9 billion.
Tech boosted by AI cheer
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose more than 2% as it continued to push the broader chips sector higher after detailing plans to ship its new AI chips later in 2024.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) was marginally higher, adding to its recent gains following an unexpected to an unexpected profit in the December quarter, and forecasting strong revenues on AI-fueled demand.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed above the flatline after plunging yesterday on regulatory concerns as the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against the tech giant.
Trump's social media company to start trading next week; Tesla cuts production in China
Former President Donald Trump's , which owns Truth Social, is expected to make its stock market duty as soon as next week after shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:DWAC) Corp backed a deal to acquire the company.
With Digital World’s share price of around $43 Thursday, that massive stake would be worth $3.4 billion – at least on paper.
Trump Media is expected to fetch a market value of more than $5 billion.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) fell 1% after cutting production in China as slowing demand for electric vehicles and rising competition weigh. The EV maker is is cutting production its Shanghai factory to five days a week from 6.5 days, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.
(Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)