Tech Stocks Rally, S&P 500 Flirts With Records, Gold Extends All-Time Highs: What's Driving Markets Friday?

Major stock indices have completed their recovery following Monday’s sharp drop, buoyed by tech stocks rallying on the back of solid earnings and positive macroeconomic data.

The S&P 500 index stands at 6,118 points at midday trading in New York, not far from the all-time high of 6,128 points reached last Friday.

The Personal Consumption Expenditure price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — came in line with expectations in December, easing market participants’ concerns over interest rates. Fed futures continue to reflect expectations for two rate cuts by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, personal spending posted a robust 0.7% increase in December, signaling strong consumer appetite in the final month of the year — a promising sign for corporate earnings.

The Magnificent Seven — as tracked by the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF MAGS – soared 1.6% on Friday, effectively erasing weekly losses after plunging as much as 3.1% on Monday due to the DeepSeek selloff.

Yet, within the elite group, NVIDIA Corp. NVDA remains 12% lower than last Friday’s close, with Friday’s gains primarily driven by Tesla Inc. TSLA and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN

The Dow Jones, flat on the day, attempted to break its all-time highs at the open but faced resistance from sellers. Sector-wise, tech leads the charge, while energy lags following mixed earnings results from oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM and Chevron Corp. CVX.

Gold climbed above $2,800 per ounce, extending new records as demand for the ultimate safe-haven asset surges amid rising geopolitical and trade risks. This comes after President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday his plan to introduce 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada starting Feb. 1.

WTI crude oil prices were down 0.3% at $72.3 per barrel, potentially marking their second consecutive weekly decline.

Bitcoin BTC/USD paused for a breather, holding steady at $104,800.

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.7% to $609.38.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA edged up by 0.1% to $449.30.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ rallied 1.4% to $530.49.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM rose 0.5% to $229.68.
• The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK outperformed, up 1.2%; the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE lagged, down 1.7%.

Friday’s Stock Movers

• Stocks reacting to earning reports included:
  • Apple Inc. AAPL, up 0.72%
  • Visa Inc. V up 0.80%
  • Intel Corp. INTC up 0.17%
  • KLA Corp. KLAC up 2.11%,
  • PPG Industries Inc. PPG down 6.12%,
  • ResMed Inc. RMD down 6.36%,
  • Baker Hughes Co. BKR up 5.52%,
  • Deckers Outdoor Corp. DECK down 16.5%,
  • LPL Financial Holdings Inc. LPLA up 1.99%.
  • Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM: down 1.31%
  • AbbVie Inc. ABBV: up 6.7%
  • Chevron Corp. CVX: down 3.7%
  • Colgate-Palmolive Co. CL: down 4.5%
  • Phillips 66 PSX: down 0.8%
  • Charter Communications Inc. CHTR: up 3.6%
  • Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. BAH: down 0.6%

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