Breaking News
Stocks kickoff Friday with broad rally
Nasdaq Composite Index.
$
11939.285187
The Nasdaq Composite took the lead as U.S. stock trading kicked off on the final trading day ahead of the long weekend. 10 of the S&P’s 11 sectors rose led by consumer discretionary and technology names. In commodities, oil hovered at $114 per barrel.
Gap slammed
Gap shares are under pressure after cutting it revenue outlook for the 2022 year.
“We are revising our fiscal 2022 outlook to reflect the impact of certain factors impacting our near-termperformance, including execution challenges at Old Navy, an uncertain macro consumer environment, inflationary cost headwinds, and a slowdown in China that is impacting Gap Brand,” said Katrina O’Connell, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Gap Inc.
“The company now expects fiscal 2022 revenue to decline in the low to mid-single digit range versus last year.”
Stock futures gain ahead of holiday weekend
U.S. equity futures were modestly higher Friday morning following a day that saw a strong set of earnings from retailers send shares higher.
U.S. bond markets will have an early close on Friday at 2:00pm ahead of the Memorial Day holiday. Both the stock and bond markets will be closed on Monday.
Gasoline prices hold steady, diesel lower
The average price for a gallon of gasoline
in the U.S. was basically unchanged Friday at $4.599, according to the latest numbers from AAA. The price on Thursday was $4.60. The price of diesel slipped again to $5.53 from $5.544.
Oil trades near two-month high amid global supply concerns
Oil prices traded near a two-month high on Friday on the prospect of an EU ban on Russian oil. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded around $114 a barrel. WTI is set for a weekly gain of about 0.7%.
Brent futures were around $117 a barrel. That benchmark was on track for a gain of about 4% this week. Oil prices have gained about 50% so far this year.
Cryptocurrencies slide
Bitcoin is trading around $29,000 after snapping a two-day winning streak heading into Friday. Bitcoin is off more than 23% month-to-date and down more than 36% year-to-date. Ether was trading down 3% around $1,700, near a 13-month low.
Read More: Stocks rise, Fed’s inflation gauge hot and Memorial Day travel: LIVE UPDATES