It's a rough start to the new month for Wall Street, as major U.S. stock indices plunged by midday Friday, setting the stage for a negative weekly close.
- SPY ETF is breaking past support. Check the chart here.
Trade war concerns resurfaced after President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on countries without a formal trade agreement with the U.S. Key levies include 25% on imports from India, 39% from Switzerland, 20% from Taiwan, 30% from South Africa, 35% on Canadian goods, and a staggering 50% on Brazilian exports.
Risk sentiment soured further following a surprisingly weak jobs report.
While July payrolls rose by 73,000—well below the 110,000 expected—revisions to prior months shocked markets: May and June payrolls were slashed by a combined 258,000 — the largest downward revision since 2020 — pointing to deeper cracks in the labor market than previously thought.
The S&P 500 dropped 1.2% to 6,260, the Nasdaq 100 slid 1.3% to 22,900, and the Dow Jones shed nearly 500 points, or 1.1%.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) spiked 18%, marking its biggest one-day jump since April 10.
Expectations for a Federal Reserve rate cut in September surged. Fed funds futures now imply nearly an 80% chance of a 25-basis-point cut, just two days after the Central Bank left rates unchanged and offered no clear signal for easing next month.
The two-year U.S. Treasury yield tumbled around 20 basis points to 3.75%, posting its largest intraday drop in over a year.
Tech Earnings Mixed, Gold Rallies On Haven Demand
Economic concerns overshadowed corporate earnings. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) beat expectations thanks to a rebound in iPhone sales in China, but Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) tanked nearly 8% after issuing soft guidance, in its worst day since April 3.
Even Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT), which had surged the day before on strong earnings, experienced sharp pullbacks.
The so-called "Magnificent Seven" tech giants collectively lost around $500 billion in market capitalization in a single session, falling to $18.7 trillion after hitting a record $19.4 trillion just a day earlier.
Gold emerged as the day's top-performing asset, jumping 1.8% to $3,450 per ounce, as investors sought safety amid tariff tensions and growing Fed rate cut bets. Silver followed with a more modest gain of 0.5% to $36.89.
The U.S. dollar snapped a six-day winning streak, with the DXY index dropping 1.1%. Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) held steady near $115,000.
Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day %chg |
| Dow Jones | 43,708.38 | -1.1% |
| S&P 500 | 6,265.71 | -1.2% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 22,916.13 | -1.3% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,176.75 | -1.6% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) dropped 1.2% at $573.85.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) fell 1% to $436.78.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) sank 1.4% to $557.14.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) slipped 1.5% to $216.24.
- The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) outperformed, up 0.8%; the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) lagged, down 1.8%.
Friday’s Stock Movers
Major companies reacting to earnings reports included:
- Apple Inc. down 2.3%
- Amazon.com, Inc. down 7.7%
- Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) down 2.1%
- Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) down 0.3%
- Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) up 0.0%
- Stryker Corporation (NYSE:SYK) down 2.8%
- MercadoLibre, Inc. (NASDAQ:MELI) up 0.6%
- KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) up 1.5%
- Coinbase Global, Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) down 15.0%
- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) down 1.7%
- Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) down 0.8%
- Ares Management Corporation (NYSE:ARES) down 2.8%
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN) up 0.2%
- Dominion Energy, Inc. (NYSE:D) up 3.6%
Best gainers on earnings:
- Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) up 12.3%
- First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) up 6.9%
- Healthcare Realty Trust Incorporated (NYSE:HR) up 6.7%
- Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE:KMB) up 4.3%
Major laggards on earnings:
- Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) down 20.5%
- Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) down 13.5%
- Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR) down 11.1%
- Mirion Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:MIR) down 10.5%
Read now: Economists Flip To Trump’s Side After Jobs Data–And Jerome Powell Is Now In Trouble
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