S&P 500 ekes out a gain Friday, snaps four-week losing run: Live updates – CNBC

Stocks finished in positive territory on Friday after a week of volatility.

The S&P 500 moved 0.08% higher to close at 5,667.56, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.52% to close at 17,784.05. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also inched 32.03 points, or 0.08%, higher to settle at 41,985.35.

— Sean Conlon

Stocks could still come under more pressure past President Donald Trump’s tariff exemption deadline on April 2, according to Megan Horneman at Verdence Capital Advisors.

“There’s just so much from the economic standpoint that is unknown at this point that I think even after April 2 if we have some clarity there, we still don’t know what that secondary impact is going to be to the economy,” the firm’s chief investment officer told CNBC. “We also don’t know from the inflation standpoint if this is just going to be a one-time hit to inflation or if we’re going to keep seeing this back and forth, which could have a bigger impact on inflation.”

Horneman also pointed to earnings downgrades as a key risk to the market going forward, saying “that’s the next thing that you’ll see really start to pick up.” However, while she believes 2025 in general is going to be a volatile year for equities, she anticipates a more favorable environment in the years beyond that.

“We still are positive longer term,” Horneman added. “We think that the Trump administration is front-loading all of these policies to the first couple months that he’s in office so that he can clear that docket and set up for extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. That’ll be the next battle in the second half of this year.”

— Sean Conlon

There is unlikely to be any real stock upside until there is clarity on the tariff front, which could come April 2 when several duties are expected to take effect, according to Barclays.

“Stocks have bounced from oversold level, but tariffs anxiety will likely cap upside ahead of April 2nd,” Emmanuel Cau, head of European equity strategy, wrote in a note.

“With Trump dubbing the April 2nd tariffs deadline as a ‘liberation day,’ it is hard to ignore the downside risks, especially if a worst case scenario of 25% blanket tariffs materialises,” Cau added.

— Sarah Min

Tesla was poised to extend its record-breaking weekly losing streak.

Despite Friday’s rally, shares of the electric vehicle maker were down more than 1% on the week. If that holds, it would mark the megacap tech stock’s first nine-week losing streak ever.

Tesla, 5 days

Tesla shares have tumbled nearly 39% this year as CEO Elon Musk’s foray into politics worried investors. Musk addressed Tesla staff in an all-hands meeting on Thursday night, telling them to “hang onto your stock.”

— Alex Harring

Technology is the worst-performing S&P 500 sector this week, down roughly 0.8% and tracking for its fifth straight weekly loss for the first time since May 20, 2022.

The sector is almost 14% below its 52-week high, and the only worst sector performer to it is consumer discretionary, which is down about 19.9% from its 52-week high.

Major laggards in the tech sector this week include consulting firm Accenture, chipmakers Nvidia and Micron, Applied Materials and Gartner.

— Pia Singh, Gina Francolla

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures during an event to sign an executive order to shut down the Department of Education, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2025.

Nathan Howard | Reuters

Any rally in the stock market next week is unlikely to be sustainable until there is clarity on the tariff front, something investors won’t get until April 2 when several levies are expected to take effect.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Sarah Min

Several consumer and transportation-related stocks touched lows not seen in at least a year on Friday, offering a negative sign on the U.S. economy.

Consumer-focused stocks in the S&P 500 hitting 52-week lows include:

• Nike: At levels not seen since March 2020
• Host Hotels: At lows not seen since February 2021
• Ross Stores: At levels not seen since November 2023
• Target: At levels not seen since April 2020

Transportation names notching new 52-week lows include:

• FedEx: At levels not seen since June 2023
• JB Hunt: At levels not seen since February 2021
• Old Dominion Freight Line: At levels not seen since June 2023

— Alex Harring

As first-quarter earnings are so far off to a “not-so-hot start” according to Wells Fargo equity analyst Christopher Harvey, investors should remain vigilant and look for stability as volatility continues.

“Don’t get too comfortable; hang on to some low-vol exposure,” Harvey wrote in a Friday note.

— Brian Evans

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles sits near an image of an F-47 sixth-generation fighter jet, as U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured) delivers remarks, in the Oval Office at the White House, in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 21, 2025. 

Carlos Barria | Reuters

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• Boeing, Lockheed Martin — Defense contractor Lockheed Martin sold off nearly 7% after Bloomberg News reported that President Donald Trump chose Boeing instead for a contract to create the next-generation fighter jet. Boeing shares surged almost 5%.
• Nike — Shares tumbled 5% after the athletic retailer warned that sales would fall in the current quarter. That overshadowed a fiscal third-quarter report that exceeded expectations on both lines.
• Cleveland-Cliffs — The steel producer declined 2% after a report from the Minnesota Star Tribune said Cleveland-Cliffs would temporarily idle two factories, resulting in hundreds of job cuts. That decision comes as automakers have reduced orders amid uncertainty tied to President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Police use pepper spray during clashes with protesters in front of Istanbul’s famous aqueduct after a protest march in support of arrested Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 21, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey. on March 21, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey. 

Chris Mcgrath | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF is down nearly 20% week to date. The fund has plunged in the last week following the controversial arrest of Istanbul’s Ekrem Imamoglu, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top political rival.

The exchange-traded fund is currently on pace for its worst week since Aug. 10, 2018. If the fund finishes lower by more than 20.58% for the week, that would mark its worst week since its inception in 2008.

iShares MSCI Turkey ETF

Almost $5 trillion of options exposure is set to expire Friday in a “quadruple witching” event that could roil an already choppy market, according to Goldman Sachs.

A quadruple witching event refers to the simultaneous expiration of index futures, index options, stock options and single-stock futures that could lead to a spike in trading activity as investors close out positions.

The firm estimates that more than $4.7 trillion of notional options exposure will expire, including $2.8 trillion of S&P 500 options and $645 billion notional of single stock options.

Goldman also said Friday’s options expiration will represent a notional value that is equal to 8.2% of the Russell 3000’s market capitalization.

— Sean Conlon

US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, March 21, 2025. 

Yuri Gripas | Bloomberg | Getty Images

BA, 1-day

Shares of aerospace and defense company and Boeing rival Lockheed Martin plummeted more than 4% on the heels of the report.

— Sean Conlon

A shopper carries a Nike bag in San Francisco on Dec. 10, 2024.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Nike shares dove more than 7% and hit a fresh 52-week low in trading Friday morning, putting the athletic shoe and apparel maker’s market value below $100 million. Tariffs and weakening consumer sentiment have complicated its turnaround efforts.

The company’s latest results showed that performance worsened as the quarter progressed, and its forecast “wasn’t very pretty,” said Gordon Haskett’s Don Bilson. He said the worst part was that new CEO Elliott Hill doesn’t see a “meaningful bounce back” in fiscal 2026. Hill left Nike in 2020 and returned about five months ago.

Nike shares are now down about 11% year to date and have shed 33% in value over the past 12 months.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

Homebuilder stocks fell broadly Friday in sympathy with Lennar, which tumbled 5.3% after its new orders guidance for the current quarter missed expectations. Shares of Lennar fell to their lowest level since 2023.

Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF shed more than 2% Friday morning.

— Hakyung Kim

The three major averages traded lower Friday morning.

Just after the opening bell, the S&P 500 dropped 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also declined 321 points, or about 0.8%.

— Sean Conlon

Jaque Silva | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Nomura analyst Jialong Shi downgraded shares of PDD Holdings, the parent company of Chinese e-commerce site Temu, in a Friday note.

Shares of PDD have rallied 35% this year, but are up just 7% over the past 12 months. Shi’s price target of $130, reduced from $137, is slightly below PDD’s Thursday closing price of $130.92 per share.

PDD, 1-year

As a catalyst for the downgrade, Shi pointed to PDD’s fourth-quarter revenue growth of 24% year over year, which was 5% below the Street’s forecast.

“We attribute the deceleration of TSR [transaction service revenue] to: 1) the slower growth of Temu’s U.S. business as it may have to slow its investments owing to rising geopolitical uncertainties after the US elections last November, 2) the merchant-friendly measures released since last Sept, including, among others, the refund of commission fees offered for the returned merchandise,” the analyst said.

Specifically, Shi approximated that the U.S. market currently forms around 30% to 40% of Temu’s overseas sales, but estimates that this number will slow throughout 2025.

— Lisa Kailai Han

These are some of the stocks making notable moves before the bell:

• FedEx — Shares tumbled more than 8% after the parcel delivery company slashed its full-year guidance, citing “continued weakness and uncertainty” in the U.S. industrial economy. United Parcel Service shares retreated 1.5% in sympathy.
• Nike — The athletic apparel maker dropped nearly 7% after warning that sales will decline in the current quarter.
• Danaher — Shares of the conglomerate added 2% following an upgrade to buy from Goldman Sachs, which said the stock could outperform after a tough period.

Click here for the full list.

— Alex Harring

FedEx logo is seen on a truck in Krakow, Poland, on Sept. 25, 2024.

Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

FedEx shares declined more than 8% in the premarket Friday after the shipping company reported weaker-than-expected earnings and cut its full-year forecast.

For the fiscal third quarter, FedEx posted adjusted earnings of $4.51 per share, while analysts had expected $4.54 per share, according to LSEG. Revenue in the quarter topped analysts’ estimates, however.

When it comes to the full year, FedEx now expects its adjusted earnings to come in between $18 and $18.60 per share, down from its prior forecast of $19 to $20 per share.

“Our revised earnings outlook reflects continued weakness and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy, which is constraining demand for our business-to-business services,” John Dietrich, FedEx’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.

FDX, 1-day

This year, shares have underperformed the broader market, falling 12.5%.

— Sean Conlon

Customers shop at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Chicago on March 11, 2025.

Scott Olson | Getty Images

Shares of Nike fell more than 6% in premarket trading on Friday after the sneaker giant said its sales for the current quarter will see a double-digit percentage decline.

Nike Chief Financial Officer Matt Friend said in a conference call with analysts that the company anticipates its fourth-quarter sales decline to come in at the “low end” of the “mid-teens range,” worse than what Wall Street was expecting.

However, Nike’s third-quarter earnings and revenue beat analysts’ expectations, posting earnings of 54 cents per share on revenue of $11.27 billion. That is above the 29 cents per share in earnings and $11.01 billion in revenue that analysts surveyed by LSEG were anticipating.

NKE, 1-day

Nike shares have lagged in recent months, seeing a drop of nearly 17% over the past six. The S&P 500 has fallen almost 1% during that period. The stock has also fallen more than 6% over the past month, likewise underperforming the broader market.

— Sean Conlon, Gabrielle Fonrouge

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.2% to 37,677.06, and the broad-based Topix added 0.29% to close at 2,804.16, notching a seven-day winning streak. The Topix had earlier hit an intraday high of 2,818.04, its highest level since July 2024.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0.23% to 2,643.13 and marked five straight days of gains, while the small-cap Kosdaq dipped 0.79% to end at 719.41.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded 0.16% higher, closing at 7,931.2.

— Lim Hui Jie

Tesla Model Y electric vehicles are collected from the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg by a car transporter.

Patrick Pleul | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas trimmed his price target on Tesla shares, citing weak auto deliveries.

Jonas reduced his target to $410 from $430 per share, which still implies shares climbing 73.5% from Thursday’s close. He remained overweight on the name and kept it a “top pick,” however.

The analyst cut his first-quarter delivery estimates to 351,000, down more than 9% on a year-over-year basis. That compares to his earlier call for 415,000 deliveries, which would’ve reflected an increase of more than 7% from the year-ago period.

The full story can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading:

• FedEx — Shares slipped more than 4% after the shipping company reported an earnings miss in the fiscal third quarter. FedEx posted adjusted earnings of $4.51 per share, while analysts polled by LSEG had called for $4.54 per share. Meanwhile, quarterly revenues of $22.16 billion came slightly above consensus forecasts for $21.89 billion.
• Micron Technology — The provider of memory and storage solutions jumped 4%. Micron offered a rosy outlook for the fiscal third quarter, calling for adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share on $8.80 billion of revenue. That surpassed Wall Street’s forecast for earnings of $1.47 per share on revenue of $8.50 billion, per LSEG. Top- and bottom-line results for the second quarter also beat expectations.
• Nike — The sports apparel giant advanced 2%. In the fiscal third quarter, Nike reported earnings of 54 cents per share and revenue of $11.27 billion, topping analysts’ call for 29 cents per share in earnings and $11.01 billion in revenue, per LSEG. Sales were down 9% from the year-ago period, however.

The full list can be found here.

— Hakyung Kim

U.S. stock futures opened near the flatline Thursday night.

Futures tied to the S&P 500 inched up 0.06%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures inched up 0.02%, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.08%.

— Hakyung Kim