US stocks notch weekly gains as Apple shares surge

Today’s headlines

What’s happening: Wall Street stocks settled higher on Friday driven by gains in technology shares.

What happened: The Nasdaq surged to a record closing high for the second session in a row following a surge in Apple’s stock.

All three major stock indices notched weekly gains as investors remained optimistic about the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates.

Why it matters: Shares of Apple jumped 4.2% on Friday and gained 13.3% last week to record their strongest weekly percentage surge since 2020.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said that Apple would make an additional manufacturing investment of $100 billion in the US, which would bring the company’s total commitment to $600 billion in the country over the next four years.

Technology and communication services stocks were among the top performers in the S&P 500 on Friday, with the stock indices also logging record closing highs.

Shares of Gilead Sciences climbed more than 8% on Friday, after the company raised its full-year financial guidance. Expedia’s stock also rose over 4% after the company boosted its annual projections for gross bookings and sales growth.

Downbeat economic reports released recently supported prospects of an interest rate cuts ahead. Meanwhile, the US President announced the nomination of Dr Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve Board after the exit of Governor Adriana Kugler last week. He also narrowed his list of candidates to succeed Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term is scheduled to end on May 15.

Investors now widely expect the Fed to cut rates by at least 25 basis points at its September meeting. They also expect at least two more rate cuts by yearend.

The Dow Jones index jumped 206.97 points, or 0.47%, to close at 44,175.61 on Friday, while the S&P 500 added 0.78% to settle at 6,389.45. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.95% to 23,611.27.

What to watch: Markets will monitor data on inflation rate, due to be released on Tuesday. The annual inflation rate in the US, which rose for the second straight month to 2.7% in June from 2.4% in May, is expected to rise further to 2.8% in July.

Trade relations between US and India are also in focus, after India retaliated to 50% tariffs by suspending new arms and aircraft purchases from the US.

The markets today

The Canadian dollar in focus today ahead of building permits data.

Context: The CAD/USD forex pair recovered slightly this morning as investors digested the latest jobs data.

Details: Data released on Friday showed Canada’s employment declined by 40,800 in July, compared to an 83,100 gain in the previous month. The figure also missed market expectations of a 13,500 rise.

The unemployment rate came in unchanged from the previous month at 6.9% in July, versus market estimates of 7%. The latest jobs data reinforced prospects of the Bank of Canada becoming more dovish ahead.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s announcement to impose a 35 % tariff on Canada’s aluminium exerted pressure on Canada’s manufacturing exports.

Lower prices of crude oil, one of Canada’s major exports, exerted some pressure on the loonie. WTI crude oil prices fell 0.9% to $63.31 a barrel this morning.

Some strength in the US dollar also weighed on the CAD/USD forex pair. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, rose slightly to 98.19 this morning.

The CAD/USD recovered slightly to 1.3755 this morning after falling on Friday, following the release of the jobs report. The S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.01% to close at 27,758.68 on Friday.

What to watch: Data on building permits from Canada, scheduled for release on Tuesday, will remain in focus. Building permits in Canada, which surged 12% in May, are expected to decline by 4.3% in June.

Markets will also monitor tariff-related announcements from the Trump administration.

Other Markets: European indices closed mixed on Friday, with the FTSE 100 and DAX 40 down by 0.06% and 0.12%, respectively, and the CAC 40 and STOXX Europe 600 Index up by 0.44% and 0.19%, respectively.

The news shaping the markets

Ukraine’s military reported that it hit an oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov region in a drone attack. The news sent the RUB/USD pair lower in forex trading this morning.

Saudi Arabia’s industrial production grew by 7.9% year-over-year in June, accelerating from May’s 2.6% rise, which lent support to the SAR/USD forex pair.

China’s consumer prices came in flat year-over-year in July, compared to 0.1% growth in the previous month, which sent the CNY/USD pair slightly higher in forex trading this morning.

Colombia’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 4.9% in July, from 4.82% in the previous month. The latest reading coming above market estimates of 4.81% exerted pressure on the COP/USD forex pair.

Egypt’s annual urban inflation rate eased for the second straight month to 13.9% in July, from 14.9% in June. However, the EGP/USD pair fell slightly in forex trading this morning.

What else to watch today

Italy’s inflation rate (1200 UAE Time) and balance of trade (1300 UAE Time), South Africa’s manufacturing production (1500 UAE Time), Mexico’s industrial production (1600 UAE Time), France’s 12-month BTF auction (1700 UAE Time), 3-month BTF auction (1700 UAE Time) and 6-month BTF auction (1700 UAE Time), Russia’s balance of trade (1700 UAE Time), as well as US 3-month Bill auction (1930 UAE Time) and 6-month Bill auction (1930 UAE Time).