US Stock Markets Today: S&P 500 Opens 0.2% Higher, Nasdaq Up 0.5% As Netflix Soars

Two of the three main Wall Street indices opened in the green on Friday, as S&P 500 was up 0.2% at 5,859.43 points at the opening bell and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped 0.5% to 18,466.01.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, slipped 0.2% to open at 43,187.12.

The rise in Nasdaq was driven by Netflix, which jumped 8% in the backdrop of stronger-than-estimated earnings posted in the third quarter of 2024.

Among other major stocks, Apple was up 1.35%, Intel 1.29% and Blackstone 1.3%. Among the companies that slipped in early trade were Citigroup, which slipped 1.16% and Chevron which was down 1%.

Among the 11 S&P 500 sectoral indices, five were trading higher, whereas six slipped against the previous day's close. The gains were led by information technology and telecom, whereas energy and financials were among the drags.

The Bloomberg dollar spot index declined 0.29% after the US markets opened. The British pound gained 0.24% to 1.304, whereas the Euro advanced 0.28% to 1.086 against the greenback.

Bitcoin, the world's largest traded cryptocurrency, jumped 0.91% to $68,008 at 10:25 a.m. (GMT-4). Its price has been on the upward trend in the run-up to the upcoming US presidential elections.

In the commodities market, gold continued to surge, with spot gold trading 0.93% higher at $2,718.23 an ounce at 10:25 a.m. (GMT-4). On the COMEX, US gold futures rose 0.88% to $2,731.3 per ounce.

Crude oil prices, however, slipped with Brent trading 2.23% lower at $72.78 per barrel. The US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 2.5% at $68.91 an ounce.

Before the US markets opened, its Asian peers settled on a high note. Chinese stocks led the gains, with the Shanghai Composite rising 2.91% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumping 3.61%. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 0.18% higher, whereas India's Nifty 50 closed with 0.42% gains.