Dow Jones Today: Stock Indexes Surge as Tech Shares Jump for 2nd Straight Day; S&P 500, Nasdaq on Pace for Weekly Gains

Trump Says Grocery Prices Are ‘Falling Rapidly’: Here’s What The Data Shows

7 hr 39 min ago

President Donald Trump says grocery prices are “falling rapidly” under his economic policies, but the government’s own data says otherwise.

On Wednesday evening, Trump took to the airways to defend his economic policies, responding to criticism from Democrats and others that the cost of living has risen too quickly under his administration, and has been exacerbated by his tariff campaign. Trump said he is tackling inflation, blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the problem, and singled out groceries as an example of his success.

“Democrat [sic] politicians also sent the cost of groceries soaring, but we are solving that too,” Trump said. “The price of a Thanksgiving turkey was down 33 percent compared to the Biden last year. The price of eggs is down 82 percent since March and everything else is falling rapidly and it’s not done yet, but boy, are we making progress.”

Reports on the price of turkey are mixed. An annual report on Thanksgiving prices from the American Farm Bureau lobbying group showed frozen turkey cost $1.34 a pound in 2025, down 16% from 2024. However, the Consumer Price Index category that includes turkey (“Other uncooked poultry including turkey”) was up 0.8% in November compared to 2024.

Egg prices are one category that is down, after jumping sky-high in 2024 due to a bird flu pandemic that is now fading.

Read the full article here.

–Diccon Hyatt

Nasdaq, S&P 500 Close Higher for Week; Dow Comes Up Short

7 hr 44 min ago

The Nasdaq had quite a turnaround the past two days. 

After dropping nearly 2% Wednesday, the tech-heavy index followed up a 1.4% gain Thursday with a 1.3% advance Friday, resulting in a 0.5% gain for the week.

The benchmark S&P 500, which snapped a four-session losing streak with a 0.8% rise yesterday, rose 0.9% today to finish up 0.1% over the five sessions. 

Despite a 0.4% rise Friday, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.7% this week. 

For the year, the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow are up more than 20%, 16%, and 13%, respectively.

Nike’s Turnaround Is ‘Going to Take Time.’ Meanwhile, The Stock Is Sliding

8 hr 21 min ago

Nike hoped a new CEO could get its stock rising again. So far, the change just hasn’t done it.

Shares of Nike (NKE) have fallen some 20% since the beleaguered athleticwear-and-gear company said it would bring back legendary leader Elliott Hill—counted since their close the night before the announcement—in September 2024.More than a year later, it’s unclear when the slide will stop.

Nike says the business is midway through a turnaround. This message is largely resonating with analysts, but Friday’s 10% drop in stock prices shows that investors may not be as convinced that a comeback is just around the corner.

Nike reported a “mixed bag” of results Thursday after what was “very much a ‘show me’ quarter,” said David Bartosiak, a stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research.

Nike’s second-quarter numbers beat analysts’ expectations, but highlighted several challenges facing the company. Revenue rose 1% year-over-year to $12.4 billion, but profit declined 32% to $792 million. The company is contending with slow sales in China and roughly $1.5 billion in annual costs stemming from tariffs.

“This was not a ‘clean’ quarter,” Bartosiak said.

Read the full article here.

–Sarina Trangle

Shares of Major Pharmaceutical Companies Rise After Agreeing to Lower Drug Costs in US Amid Trump Pressure

8 hr 27 min ago

Several major pharmaceutical firms agreed to lower various drugs costs for Americans amid pressure from President Donald Trump. Their shares are rising in response.

Shares of Amgen (AMGN), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Gilead Sciences (GILD), GSK (GSK), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), and Sanofi (SNY) rose roughly 1% to 3.5% Friday afternoon.

Also agreeing to terms were privately held German company Boehringer Ingelheim and Genentech, a unit of Swiss firm Roche.

The companies agreed “to lower prescription drug prices for Americans in line with the lowest prices paid by other developed nations,” or most-favored-nation prices, the White House said.

In exchange, the companies reportedly will avoid Trump’s planned pharmaceutical tariffs for three years, provided they further invest in U.S. manufacturing. The White House said the firms “are committing to invest at least $150 billion collectively in U.S. manufacturing in the near term.”

Rotation Time: As Tech Stocks Faltered, These Sectors Picked Up the Slack

8 hr 57 min ago

Tech investors are smiling today, but they’ve had a tough time lately. Many value-oriented assets, meanwhile, have been feeling the love. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, despite gains in the back half of this week, has underperformed the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the small-cap Russell 2000 over the past several months. Heading into Friday, the Nasdaq had risen about 1.5% since the start of the fourth quarter, about half the return of the Russell or the Dow. While the benchmark S&P 500 is off its October highs, Deutsche Bank wrote this week, the average stock in the index is higher.

That marks a sharp reversal from the rest of the year: The Nasdaq rose more than 17% through the first three quarters, while the Dow and the Russell added about 9%.

Tech stocks have been pressured in recent months by increased scrutiny of the AI rally. Investors grew more worried this quarter that tech companies may not see a return on their massive AI investments anytime soon, if at all. Wall Street is increasingly demanding that tech companies justify their high stock valuations with evidence AI is sustainably increasing sales or expanding their margins. Anything short of a historic earnings report has lately failed to impress investors.

Healthcare stocks have been among the biggest beneficiaries, with the sector up more than 13% over the past three months. Financial stocks have also gained ground recently: The sector is up more than 6% over the past month. Adam Turnquist, Chief Technical Strategist at LPL Financial, in a note this week cited “rising demand for smaller-cap and value stocks.”

Read the full article here.

–Colin Laidley

Tech Stocks Are Surging Friday. Is the AI Trade Making a Comeback?

9 hr 43 min ago

Are investors ready to pile back into the AI trade?

Tech stocks led the major indexes higher Friday, with many AI investor favorites among the top performers, in what could be a sign of renewed confidence in the sector.

Shares of cloud computing giant Oracle (ORCL), which slumped recently amid worries about its dependence on a few big AI customers, saw its shares pop over 8% Friday afternoon following reports that it’s set to become a major investor in a new TikTok joint venture.

Memory chip supplier Micron Technology (MU) surged over 6%, extending yesterday’s gains after its quarterly results topped analysts’ expectations on AI-driven demand. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) was up close to 6%, and Nvidia (NVDA) climbed 3% amid reports the Trump administration has kicked off its review of the chipmaker’s H200 chip exports to China. Other semiconductor stocks also rose, lifting the PHLX Semiconductor Sector Index (SOX) up close to 3%.

Read the full article here.

–Aaron McDade

Technology Shares Lead S&P 500; Utilities, Consumer Staples Only Sectors in Red

10 hr 26 min ago

Technology shares are having a great day. That is not the case for utilities and consumer staples stocks.

The S&P 500 Information Technology sector is the best performer of the 11 industries tracked by the benchmark index, with shares up roughly 1.7%.

Sandisk (SNDK), Oracle (ORCL), Micron Technology (MU), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) are leading the tech sector with respective advances of 8.5%, 8%, 7%, and 6%.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Utilities and Consumer Staples sectors are the only ones in the red Friday, down roughly 0.3% each.

Nike’s Profits Topped Estimates. Here’s Why the Stock Is Tumbling Anyway

11 hr 59 min ago

Nike shares tumbled Friday, despite quarterly profits that topped estimates, as a weaker-than-expected outlook and headwinds in China weighed on sentiment.

The shares were down nearly 10% to about $59 in recent trading, making Nike (NKE) one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Friday, at a time when broader markets gained.

The athletic apparel giant posted earnings per share of $0.53 for the fiscal second quarter, well above the $0.38 analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha anticipated. Revenue climbed 1% year-over-year to $12.4 billion, ahead of projections. Nike benefited from a 9% jump in sales in North America, but its sales in China sank 17%, with a 21% drop in shoe sales.

CFO Matt Friend told investors on Thursday’s earnings call that the company expects sales headwinds in China could continue for the rest of the fiscal year before Nike returns to growth, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense. Friend said Nike expects third-quarter revenue to drop by low-single digits, while analysts had expected a gain, with growth in North America offset by continued weakness in China.

Read the full article here.

–Aaron McDade

Lamb Weston Stock Plummets as Company Does Not Raise Full-Year Outlook Despite Stronger-Than-Expected Results

12 hr 42 min ago

Lamb Weston Holdings (LW) beat fiscal 2026 second-quarter estimates for profit and sales. Its decision not to lift its full-year guidance is sending shares sharply lower Friday morning.

Shares of the Eagle, Idaho-based supplier of frozen potato products sank 22%, easily the worst performance among S&P 500 stocks in early trading.

Lamb Weston reported adjusted earnings of $0.69 per share on sales that rose 1% year-over-year to $1.62 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected $0.65 and $1.59 billion, respectively.

However, the company merely affirmed its prior guidance for fiscal 2026, projecting sales of $6.35 billion to $6.55 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $1.00 billion to $1.20 billion. The midpoints of those ranges are below Visible Alpha consensus forecasts of $6.52 billion and $1.17 billion.

“Given the price/mix dynamics and higher manufacturing costs in our international segment, we believe maintaining our adjusted EBITDA guidance range of 1 to 1.2 billion is the most prudent approach,” Lamb Weston CFO Bernadette Madarieta said on the earnings call, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense. “We currently expect to finish closer to the midpoint.”

Including today’s sharp declines, shares of Lamb Weston have lost roughly a third of their value this year.

Carnival Reinstates Dividend, Issues Rosy Profit Outlook After ‘Phenomenal Year’

13 hr 37 min ago

Carnival Corp. (CCL) CEO Josh Weinstein said after the cruise operator’s fiscal fourth quarter that “2025 was a truly phenomenal year.” Its fiscal 2026 looks to be off to a promising start, too.

Shares of the Miami-based company surged 8% Friday morning after it reported solid quarterly results and issued rosy fiscal 2026 guidance.

Carnival reported adjusted earnings of $0.34 per share, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had expected $0.25 per share. Revenue of $6.33 billion was a record for the company but came in just below estimates.

For fiscal 2026, Carnival sees adjusted net income of $3.5 billion, above record 2025 levels and Visible Alpha consensus of $3.37 billion.

Carnival’s board reinstated the company’s quarterly dividend, declaring an initial $0.15-per-share dividend with a record date of Feb. 13, 2026, payable on Feb. 27, 2026. “This decision highlights confidence in our future performance and continued commitment to delivering value to shareholders,” Bernstein said.

Shares of Carnival’s rivals Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) also advanced Friday morning, rising a respective 4.5% and 2.5%.

What Is the ‘Warrior Dividend’? Trump’s Proposed $1,776 Checks for Military Personnel, Explained

15 hr 7 min ago

Select military members will be eligible to receive one-time checks worth $1,776 from the federal government this holiday season.

On Wednesday evening, President Trump unveiled a $1,776 tax-free benefit, known as the ‘Warrior Dividend,’ for 1.45 million military service members. The benefit amount is intended to pay homage to the year the nation was founded: 1776.

“We made a lot more money than anyone thought because of tariffs. And the bill [the One Big Beautiful Bill] helped us along. Nobody deserves it more than our military,” said Trump in the announcement.

The details of exactly how the ‘Warrior Dividend’ will be funded are scarce.

President Trump said Wednesday night that the ‘Warrior Dividends’ will be paid for with revenue collected from tariffs as well as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Likewise, in a video posted on the Department of War’s (formerly known as the Department of Defense) website, Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, implies that the benefit will be funded by provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Read the full article here.

–Trina Paul

What to Know About the Deal Giving American Investors a Big Stake in TikTok

15 hr 36 min ago

TikTok finally has a deal.

CEO Shou Zi Chew told employees in an internal memo that ByteDance, the social media platform’s Chinese parent company, has agreed to create a joint venture granting a group of American investors a controlling stake in TikTok, Axios and Bloomberg reported late Thursday.

The joint venture’s investors will reportedly include cloud computing giant Oracle (ORCL), private equity firm Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, which combined are set to own a 45% stake.

ByteDance will retain a 20% stake, with close to one-third held by affiliates of ByteDance investors. The agreement is expected to close on Jan. 22.

Oracle declined to comment. TikTok, Silver Lake, and MGX did not respond to Investopedia’s requests for comment in time for publication.

Read the full article here.

–Kara Greenberg

Winnebago Industries Sees Benefits of Portfolio ‘Increasingly Aligned to Where Consumers Are Spending’

16 hr 17 min ago

Winnebago Industries (WGO) found a way to overcome what its chief executive said was “macroeconomic uncertainty persisting and industry short-term retail demand still tempered.”

The RV maker easily topped analysts’ expectations in its fiscal 2026 first quarter and lifted its full-year outlook, sending shares soaring 12% in premarket trading Friday.

Winnebago reported adjusted earnings of $0.38 per share, nearly quadruple the $0.10 per share Visible Alpha consensus estimate. It also reported a GAAP profit of $0.19 per share when analysts were expecting a loss of $0.04 per share. Revenue of $702.7 million increased 12% year-over-year and comfortably topped projections of $633.5 million.

“Winnebago Industries performed ahead of our expectations in the first quarter and demonstrated clear progress on our priorities,” CEO Michael Happe said. “Although the retail demand environment is dynamic and dealer order patterns remain highly seasonal, we delivered meaningful top-line growth and margin expansion in both our Motorhome and Towable RV segments.”

Following the strong quarter, Winnebago lifted its guidance for revenue, EPS, and adjusted EPS. “As industry demand gradually recovers, the margin and efficiency improvements we are executing, together with new product offerings, enhance our competitive position and provide a solid foundation for second half success in Fiscal 2026, which is reflected in our positive, but still disciplined guidance outlook,” Happe said.

Entering Friday, Winnebago Industries shares were down about 15% this year.

Stock Futures Point Higher After S&P 500, Dow Snap 4-Session Skids

17 hr 3 min ago

Futures contracts associated with the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.4%.