The S&P 500 cleared 7,755 and Wall Street is on course for its best week since April.
The rally comes on the heels of a contraction in July payrolls. The U.S. economy unexpectedly shed 23,000 jobs in July against forecasts of an 80,000 gain, while May and June payrolls were revised down by a combined 103,000.
Average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% on the month and 3.2% on the year, both below consensus.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.1% from 4.2%, but for the wrong reason: the labor force shrank by 264,000 and the participation rate slid to 61.4%, the lowest since early 2021.
Odds of a Fed rate hike in September collapsed to 42% from 58% on Thursday, while pricing for cumulative increases by December fell to 28 basis points from 32 basis points.
The news sent U.S. equities to fresh records by midday Friday:
- The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 7,755.49, a record high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged with a 0.1% gain, advancing 77 points to 53,962.40.
- The Nasdaq 100 outperformed with a 0.9% advance to 29,646.22. The Russell 2000 matched the Nasdaq with a 0.9% gain to 3,029.46.
- Gold was the standout in commodities, surging 2.5% to $4,347.70 an ounce, its highest in seven weeks and on track for its best week in seven months with a 7.5% gain.
Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices
| Index | Last | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,755.49 | +0.6% |
| Dow Jones | 53,962.40 | +0.1% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,646.22 | +0.9% |
| Russell 2000 | 3,029.46 | +0.9% |
According to the Benzinga Pro platform:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) gained 0.6%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) edged up 0.2%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) climbed 1.1%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) rallied 1.0%.
Gold Miners Rip, Software Soars As Rate-Hike Bets Melt Away
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) led all 11 S&P 500 sectors with a 1.8% gain, followed by the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) at 1.3% and the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) at 1.2%.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) added 1.0% and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) rose 0.7% as yields fell.
Only three sectors were lower.
The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) fell 0.4%, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) slipped 0.4% and the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) eased 0.2%.
Industry-level moves were far more violent.
The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (NYSE:GDX) soared 7.2%, extending its month-to-date gain to 21.5%, while the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (NYSE:XME) climbed 4.4%.
The Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN) rose 3.3% and the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (BATS:IGV) advanced 2.9% on the back of blowout software earnings. On the other side, the SPDR S&P Insurance ETF (NYSE:KIE) fell 0.6%, the U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSE:JETS) lost 0.5% and the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSE:KRE) slipped 0.1%.
Software: The Epicenter of the Session’s Biggest Moves
Atlassian Corp. (NASDAQ:TEAM) rocketed 30.8% after reporting fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $1.77 billion, 6.3% above consensus, and earnings of $1.87 per share, a 47.2% beat.
Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO) surged 30.6% on second-quarter revenue of $1.5 billion, a 5.0% beat, and EPS of $1.47 that topped estimates by 24.6%.
Doximity Inc. (NYSE:DOCS) was the single best performer in the Russell 1000, jumping 33.3% after posting revenue of $156.62 million and EPS of $0.29, beating consensus by 3.3% and 7.4% respectively.
Cloudflare Inc. (NYSE:NET) added 7.9% on a 4.5% revenue beat and a 38.1% earnings beat.
In healthcare, Natera Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRA) climbed 18.4% after lifting full-year revenue guidance by roughly $100 million at the midpoint to $2.85 billion-$2.91 billion, processing a record 1,044,000 tests and growing clinical MRD volumes 56% year-on-year.
Halozyme Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:HALO) rose 16.9% on 47.7% revenue growth to $481 million and a raised 2026 outlook of $1.835 billion-$1.91 billion.
Coherent Corp. (NYSE:COHR) rallied 16.4% in a sixth straight advance – this one is not an earnings story, since the optics maker does not report until Aug. 12.
The move comes after reports of potential U.S. restrictions on Chinese data-center components, which could benefit domestic optical networking suppliers, along with JPMorgan raising its price target to $435 from $380 while maintaining an Overweight rating.
Peer Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (NASDAQ:AAOI) gained 11.6% after its own earnings beat.
A Dramatic Downside
The Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD) cratered 21%, the worst performer in the index, after second-quarter revenue of $715.06 million missed by 4.9% and EPS of 34 cents came in 8.1% below consensus.
Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE:POST) tumbled 12.9% after narrowing fiscal 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance to $1.56 billion-$1.57 billion and flagging a preliminary fiscal 2027 outlook that is broadly flat, with management pointing to continued volume softness in certain categories.
Arrow Electronics Inc. (NYSE:ARW) slid 10.0% even after second-quarter revenue of $10 billion, up 32% year-on-year, and adjusted EPS of $5.45 both landed above the high end of company guidance, with a cautious forward outlook overshadowing the beat.
ResMed Inc. (NYSE:RMD) fell 7.1% despite beating with fiscal fourth-quarter EPS of $2.95 versus $2.88 expected and record revenue of $1.5 billion, up 9%. Investors focused instead on the pending divestiture of the MatrixCare software business and the $340 million Noctrix Health acquisition, both seen diluting earnings next year; RBC Capital and Wells Fargo trimmed price targets.
Shift4 Payments Inc. (NYSE:FOUR) dropped 6.8% in a second session of post-print selling. That’s an unusual reaction given the payments group delivered revenue of $1.3 billion that beat by 16.2% and EPS of $1.32 that topped consensus by 10.9%.
Elsewhere in Earnings
- Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ:ABNB) jumped 14.6% on a 10.5% earnings beat
- Onto Innovation Inc. (NYSE:ONTO) rose 14.7%
- Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP) gained 13.6%
- Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) advanced 12.7%.
- MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) added 9.5% and
- DraftKings Inc. (NASDAQ:DKNG) rose 7.2%.
In the Chip Complex
- The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) rose 1.8%,
- SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) and Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) each up about 2% after Thursday’s earnings-driven selloff.
- Vistra Corp. (NYSE:VST) reported earnings of $1.68 per share against expectations of $2.05.
Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers
| Name | % change |
|---|---|
| Doximity, Inc. | +33.29% |
| Atlassian Corporation | +30.81% |
| Twilio Inc. | +30.64% |
| Natera, Inc. | +18.44% |
| Coherent Corp. | +16.44% |
Friday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers
| Name | % change |
|---|---|
| The Trade Desk, Inc. | -21.01% |
| Post Holdings, Inc. | -12.87% |
| Arrow Electronics, Inc. | -10.01% |
| ResMed Inc. | -7.11% |
| Shift4 Payments, Inc. | -6.77% |