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    S&P 500, Nasdaq edge higher as investors weigh a week of Trump tariffs

    7 Mins Read


    US stocks tipped broadly higher on Friday after retail sales data fell short, as investors weighed a busy week of tariff hikes and inflation updates.

    The S&P 500 (^GSPC) crept up 0.1% to eye a fresh record, as the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) edged 0.2% higher. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) traded flat after Thursday’s sharp gains

    Retail sales booked their biggest monthly drop in a year, down 0.9% in January — significantly below the 0.9% expected. The report out Friday wrapped up a week of key data, with inflation top of mind after two hot readings dragged on hopes for interest rate cuts.

    Markets are taking a pause for more thought about this week’s fast-moving stream of policy shifts from President Donald Trump. These ranged from 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum to Ukraine peace talks with Russia to a review of CHIPS Act terms for projects.

    But stocks are still on track for solid weekly wins, having jumped on Thursday as Wall Street welcomed a delay in implementation of reciprocal tariffs. The S&P 500 is now eyeing a fresh all-time high after closing just shy of the 6,118.71 record.

    Among Friday’s big stock movers, Airbnb (ABNB) shares jumped after the travel company beat analyst expectations. GameStop (GME) shares popped amid speculation the games retailer will move into bitcoin. On Friday, Moderna (MRNA) posted a bigger-than-expected earnings loss, sending down shares of the struggling vaccine maker.

    LIVE 11 updates

    • Ines Ferré

      Nvidia shakes up stock portfolio, sending WeRide soaring and cratering Serve Robotics

      Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland writes:

      Nvidia (NVDA) on Friday disclosed its latest equity holdings, and the reveal led to some wild swings in the fortunes of companies that saw their shares bought or sold by the chip giant.

      The biggest winner early Friday was WeRide (WRD), a Chinese autonomous driving play, that saw its stock nearly double. Nvidia disclosed a new stake in the company of around 1.8 million shares, worth about $57 million at Friday’s market prices.

      WeRide stock rose as much as 90% in early trading.

      Nebius Group (NBIS), a Netherlands-based AI company that was split out of Russian search giant Yandex last year, saw its stock rise as much as 14%. Nvidia disclosed a new 1.2 million share position worth about $56 million at Friday’s market prices.

      Nvidia declined to comment on the changes to its equity portfolio.

      On the flip side, Serve Robotics (SERV) stock was getting hammered, falling as much as 40% after Nvidia disclosed that it closed out its position in the robotics company during the fourth quarter.

      Read more here.

    • Airbnb surges after upbeat quarter, plan to become ‘Amazon’ of travel and living

      Airbnb (ABNB) stock surged as much as 15% on Friday following better-than-expected quarterly results. The company also laid out plans to expand its vacation platform into an app for everything related to travel and living.

      “We want the Airbnb app — kind of similar to Amazon (AMZN) — to be one place you go for all of your traveling and living needs,” CEO Brian Chesky said during a late Thursday conference call. “A place to stay is just really, frankly, a very small part of the overall equation.”

      Airbnb plans to spend between $200 million and $250 million on launching new businesses over the next four or five years.

      “We’re going to start initially with things very closely adjacent to travel,” Chesky said.

      The company’s management pointed to “continued strong demand” for the first three months of 2025, following a robust holiday season in the fourth quarter. Its revenue and gross bookings topped Wall Street expectations for the last three months of 2024.

    • Josh Schafer

      Retail sales see biggest drop in a year to start 2025

      New data out Friday showed retail sales declined more than expected in the first month of 2025.

      Headline retail sales fell 0.9% in January, more than the 0.2% decline economists had expected, according to Bloomberg data. This marked the largest month-over-month decline in retail sales since January 2024.

      Retail sales in December were revised up to 0.7% from a prior reading that showed a 0.4% increase in the month, according to Census Bureau data.

      “The traditional holiday hangover & a nasty winter freeze combined to cool topline retail sales,” RSM chief economist Joe Brusuelas wrote in a post on X.

      Read more here.

    • Stocks steady as investors digest tariff plan, retail sales

      Stocks opened flat as investors digested the biggest decline in retail sales in a year and Trump’s plan on reciprocal tariffs.

      The S&P 500 (^GSPC), Dow (^DJI), and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) were all trading roughly flat after the opening bell.

    • Jenny McCall

      Tesla’s $400 billion slide: Why Wall Street says ‘buyer beware’

      Tesla Inc. (TSLA) has lost a quarter of its value in less than two months — wiping out roughly $400 billion from a rip-roaring post-election rally. While some investors might see this as an opportunity to buy the dip, Wall Street remains cautious.

      Bloomberg News reports:

      Read more here.

    • Trump said to be set to change US CHIPS Act deals, delaying funding

      The Trump administration is reportedly looking into renegotiating the terms for some awards under the CHIPS Act, meaning some upcoming funding handouts will be delayed.

      The White House is said to be reviewing projects given backing under the Biden-era effort, which aims to lift US chip production via subsidies of up to $39 billion.

      Many of the biggest recipients — which include Intel (INTC), TSMC (TSM), Samsung Electronics (005930.KS, SSNLF), and SK Hynix (000660.KS, HXSCL) — have major manufacturing facilities in China.

      Reuters reports:

      Read more here.

    • Coinbase earnings: What Wall Street is saying

      Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi reports:

      Coinbase (COIN) cashed in for the final quarter of 2024.

      Shares of the crypto exchange fell slightly to $295.18 each in pre-market trading on Friday, despite a better-than-expected earnings report the night before.

      The pullback in the stock likely reflects its mixed guidance for the first quarter, where an increase in marketing spending could bring a sequential step-down in profit margins.

      But the chatter on Wall Street is that the stock’s muted reaction shows watchers are missing the forest for the trees.

      “We think management guided conservatively for the first quarter,” JPMorgan analyst Ken Worthington said in a client note.

      Read more here.

    • China invites Jack Ma and DeepSeek founder to meet top leaders

      Beijing has invited Alibaba’s (BABA, 9988.HK) Jack Ma, DeepSeek’s founder, and other entrepreneurs to meet China’s top leaders, including President Xi. Next week’s meeting signals a major shift from a five-year push to rein in China’s billionaires and the private sector.

      Gains for Alibaba shares in Hong Kong helped boost the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (^HSCE) to a 4.1% closing gain on Friday — its biggest since February 2022.

      Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter:

      Read more here.

    • Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.

    • Trending tickers in after-hours trading on Friday

      AirBnB (ABNB)

      Shares of Airbnb soared over 14% in extended trading following stronger-than-expected Q4 profit, with revenue rising 12% to $2.5 billion and net income of $461 million. Bookings grew 12% to 111 million, while gross booking value climbed 13% to $17.6 billion, surpassing analyst expectations.

      GameStop (GME)

      GameStop (GME) shares surged nearly 10% in after-hours trading on Thursday following reports that the video game retailer is considering investing in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC-USD). The company has been tied into cryptocurrencies for years, hitting all-time highs among meme-stock resurgence.

      Palo Alto Networks (PANW)

      Palo Alto Networks slumped 5% after the market closed Thursday. The company had popped during trading hours following its full-year revenue forecast on Thursday, anticipating strong demand for its cybersecurity solutions amid growing online threats — only to miss earnings in mixed quarterly results.

    • Sony shares leap following strong profit forecast and gaming division performance

      Sony Group (SONY) stock jumped by up to 11% in Tokyo on Friday, the largest increase since August, after the company raised its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year to 1.34 trillion yen (USD $8.7 billion), a 2% increase.

      This upward revision is largely attributed to strong performance in its gaming division, with a 37% rise in quarterly profit and robust sales of PlayStation 5 units.

      Bloomberg reports:



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