Stocks wind up mixed on Wall Street after spending most of the day in
the red
[November 08, 2025] By
DAMIAN J. TROISE
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks wavered to a mixed finish on Wall Street Friday
and notched their first weekly loss in the last four.
Major indexes wobbled throughout most of the week, but ultimately pulled
back from records set the prior week. Technology stocks once again
determined the broader direction of the market.
The S&P 500 spent most of the day in the red and was down as much as
1.3%. It ultimately eked out a gain, rising 8.48 points, or 0.1%, to
close at 6,728.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average made a similar
reversal and rose 74.80 points, or 0.2%, to close at 46,987.10.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq was down as much as 2.1% at one point during
trading, but recovered most of the losses. It fell 49.46 points, or 0.2%
to 23,004.54.
The market was weighed down by technology stocks, especially several big
names with huge valuations that give them outsized influence over the
direction of the market. Google's parent company, Alphabet, fell 2.1%
and Broadcom fell 1.7%.
Wall Street remained focused on the latest quarterly reports and
forecasts from U.S. companies.
Payments company Block, which operates the Square and Cash App
businesses, sank 7.7% after turning in results that fell short of
forecasts. Exercise equipment maker Peloton jumped 14.2% after its
results beat estimates.
Expedia Group surged 17.5% after beating analysts' quarterly earnings
forecasts.
More than 90% of companies within the S&P 500 have reported earnings for
their latest quarter. Most companies have reported growth beyond Wall
Street expectations and the influential tech sector has the strongest
growth, according to data from FactSet.
Corporate profits and forecasts were already being scrutinized by Wall
Street as investors try to gauge whether the market's overall high value
is justified. The results have taken on more significance amid a lack of
other data about the economy because of the U.S. government shutdown,
which is now the longest on record.
The shutdown is now responsible for yet another missing economic report
typically relied on by Wall Street and economists. The monthly
employment data for October was unavailable, as was the monthly data for
September previously. The lack of data on employment is especially
troubling because the job market was already weakening.
Wall Street still has several private sources of economic data to turn
to, outside of earnings. The latest came Friday from the University of
Michigan, with its monthly consumer sentiment report. The latest report
showed that consumer sentiment fell sharply from a month ago and hit a
three-year low. Economists had expected a slight increase.
[to top of second column] |
Specialist Meric Greenbaum works on the floor of the New York Stock
Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
 “Consumers are starting to get
concerned about the potential effects of the government’s shutdown
on economic activity," Eugenio Aleman, chief economist for Raymond
James, wrote in a note to investors.
The survey also showed that inflation expectations edged slightly
higher. Government data on consumer prices and other measures of
inflation are among the information Wall Street and others lack
because of the government shutdown. Inflation has been stubbornly
high and remains a key concern, especially amid a volatile U.S.
trade war that could add fuel to rising inflation.
The lack of inflation and employment data is a problem for the
Federal Reserve, which has signaled a more cautious approach on
interest rate cuts moving forward. Wall Street's big gains this year
have been partly due to anticipation for interest rate cuts, which
can help stimulate the economy by making loans less expensive.
The Fed has already cut its benchmark rate twice this year as it
tries to counter the impact that a weakening employment market could
have on economic growth. Cutting rates could worsen inflation at a
time when levels are stubbornly higher than the central bank's 2%
goal, however.
Wall Street is still mostly betting that the Fed will cut interest
rates at its December meeting. Investors are forecasting a 67%
chance of another interest rate cut, according to CME FedWatch.
Treasury yields held steady in the bond market. The yield on the
10-year Treasury remained at 4.09% from late Thursday. The yield on
the two-year Treasury held at 3.56% from late Thursday.
Markets in Europe fell and markets in Asia closed lower. China
reported that its exports contracted 1.1% in October, as shipments
to the United States dropped by 25% from a year earlier. But
economists expect Chinese exports to recover after U.S. President
Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed last week to
de-escalate the trade war between the two largest economies.
___
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
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