U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors closed out the best week of 2024, part of a market comeback from a violent rout to begin August.

The S&P 500 added 0.2% to 5,554.25, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.21% to 17,631.72 on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 96 points, or 0.24%, to 40,659.76. For the week, the S&P 500 added nearly 3.9%, its best week since November 2023. The Nasdaq gained 5.2%, while the 30-stock Dow advanced 2.9% on the week.

Following the comeback this week, the S&P 500 is now just 2% away from its mid-July record high. Data this week helped assuage a jittery market. Retail sales data released Thursday came in much stronger than economists expected, while weekly jobless claims fell. Both offered evidence that recession fears, which helped spark a global sell-off earlier this month, were overblown. Inflation readings released earlier this week also bolstered hopes that a soft landing scenario was still possible.

"Data released over the past week has struck the right balance, being not too hot, nor too cold," UBS head of investment for global wealth management Mark Haefele wrote Friday. "This should help allay both concerns of a looming recession or that sticky inflation will hamper the Federal Reserve if swift rate cuts are needed to defend growth."

Shares of Nvidia are among the biggest winners in technology stocks on the week with a gain of more than 18%. Apple and Microsoft advanced roughly 4% and 3%, respectively, for the week.

The Dow dropped 1,000 points and the S&P 500 had its worst day since 2022 on Aug. 5 as investors feared the Federal Reserve was too late to cut interest rates and the economy was slipping into a recession. A hedge fund currency trade unwind added to the market volatility.

But investors stepped in to buy since then, with the S&P 500 gaining for seven days in a row as economic reports quelled recession concerns. The Nasdaq posted its best week since November 2023. On Friday, consumer sentiment rose more than expected, according to the latest University of Michigan survey.

Stocks close higher

Stocks closed higher on Friday, with the rally on Wall Street lifting the S&P 500 to its best week of the year.

The broad market index advanced 0.2% to close at 5,554.25. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.21% to 17,631.72, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 96 points, or 0.24%, to finish the session at 40,659.76.

— Brian Evans

Corporate earnings continue pleasing Wall Street

Corporate earnings continue to show strength as the latest reports trickle in.

About 93% of S&P 500-listed firms have posted results as of Friday afternoon, according to FactSet. Of those, more than 78% have surpassed Wall Street's expectations.

While the lion's share of reports has already dropped, investors still have some big names to watch for next week. Retailers Lowe's, Target and Macy's are all slated to publish earnings, alongside tech names such as Zoom Video, Workday and Palo Alto Networks.

— Alex Harring

Worst-case scenario for Google breakup points to ‘meaningful downside,’ says Mizuho

While the bar is high, the Department of Justice successfully splitting up Google — namely, search and YouTube — could spell about a 30% drop for the stock from its current trading level, according to Mizuho.

"This scenario would have a detrimental effect on the advertising business because Search and YouTube share a unified ad system that leverages common technology and data to outperform its peers," the firm wrote in an analyst note to clients.

That said, the firm thinks the company may likely retain its market share, likening the scenario to Microsoft's 2001 antitrust case from the DOJ and 2009 case from the European Union. If a case against Google were to play out like those, Mizuho expects to see a solution that allows consumers to use Chrome's choice screen to select a default search engine.

"While Google has a large market share in search, it does not have control over infrastructure or the supply chain, therefore the company does not hold an advantage of dictating pricing to its competitors for leasing capacity," Mizuho also wrote. "On the contrary, competitors for search such as Bing have their own proprietary technology and distribution channels so innovation was not stifled because of Google."

— Sean Conlon

Walmart shares look to notch best week since 2020

Walmart's postearnings rally has placed the retailer on track for its best week in more than four years.

Shares have climbed about 8% this week with less than one hour left. If that holds through close, it will mark the stock's best week since July 2020, when shares climbed more than 9%.

A large chunk of this week's jump came after Walmart, which is the largest U.S. retailer, posted better-than-expected earnings and raised its full year outlook on Thursday. Shares are now up nearly 40% in 2024.

— Alex Harring

Bernstein sticks with Tesla sell rating as EV maker loses market share

Tesla is continuing to lose market share and Bernstein doesn't see that reversing for another couple of years, analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote in a note Friday. He is sticking with his sell rating on the stock.

While its declining market share has occurred across all regions, it has been the most acute in the U.S., Sacconaghi said. Volume share has declined from 77% in the second half of 2019 to 48% in the first half of 2024 in the U.S., he noted.

"We don't believe that Tesla will be able to regain share or grow materially until it launches all new, lower priced offerings — likely only in 2026 and 2027 — and believe the company's valuation is increasingly disconnected from prevailing fundamentals," said Sacconaghi.

His $120 price target suggests 44% downside from Thursday's close. Shares of Tesla are down 12% year to date.

— Michelle Fox

Vanguard index fund broke record for annual ETF flows in just 7 months

The year 2024 has been big for the launch of exchange-traded funds that track crypto and different derivatives trade ideas, but none of those have been as popular as a plain vanilla index fund.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) had brought in $54 billion through the end of July, according to Morningstar. That is already the largest annual inflow for any ETF on record, the firm said.

"It's almost certain to set the new inflow record. The question now becomes: by how much," the Morningstar report said.

Vanguard had brought in $118 billion total through the end of July, second only to iShares among fund issuers.

— Jesse Pound

H&R Block poised for best day since 2022

H&R Block shares headed for their best day in more than two years.

The tax preparer's shares jumped more than 13% in Friday's session. If that holds, it will mark the biggest one-day rise since May 2022 and second-best session in the past 15 years.

Friday's rally comes after the Kansas City-based company announced a 17% dividend increase and a $1.5 billion share buyback. H&R Block also said it earned an adjusted $1.89 per share in the fiscal fourth quarter on $1.06 billion in revenue.

— Alex Harring

Stocks making the biggest moves midday

Here are the stocks on the move midday:

• Rocket Lab — The space company soared more than 16%, hitting a 52-week high, after packing and shipping two Mars-bound spacecraft to Cape Canaveral, Florida, for launch. The two spacecraft were designed, built, integrated and tested by Rocket Lab for the University of California Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory and NASA.
• Bavarian Nordic — The Danish biotech company surged more than 16% after it submitted data to the European Union's drug regulator to extend mpox vaccine use for teens. CEO Paul Chaplin told CNBC that the expanded approval for individuals between 12 and 17 years of age is crucial to combatting the outbreak of the virus' latest strain.
• H&R Block — The tax services provider jumped more than 16% after fiscal fourth-quarter results topped Street estimates, it raised its dividend and authorized a $1.5 billion buyback. H&R Block also issued a fiscal 2025 forecast reflecting another year of revenue growth.

Read the full list here.

— Sean Conlon

JPMorgan calls recent sell-off a 'dress rehearsal' for what's to come

JPMorgan believes the recent jarring market meltdown was a practice for possibly similar scenarios down the road.

"Many market participants are dismissing the recent blowup of various crowded trades as a fluke or flash cash, but we see it as more of a dress rehearsal for what's to come," JPMorgan strategists said in a note.

Earlier in August, the Nikkei 225 index, a benchmark for Japanese stocks, plunged 12.4% in one day, its worst day since "Black Monday" in 1987, triggering a domino effect globally. The sell-off was triggered by a small rate hike by the Bank of Japan, lifting rates to their highest in 15 years and the unwinding of the yen "carry trade."

The Wall Street firm believes that the carry trades could become a problem again, but with investors getting burned, they shouldn't trigger another market meltdown. However, JPMorgan said concerns about an economic slowdown could resurface.

"Looking ahead, until the Sharpe ratios on the carry trades get high, we would not think these would be the catalyst for the next major correction," the firm said. "Instead, we see the reemergence growth risk as the likely trigger."

— Yun Li

Nvidia heads for best week in more than a year

Nvidia shares have roared back 18% this week, following four weeks of losses.

The weekly move puts the chipmaker on pace for its best week since May 2023, when shares surged 24.6%. Shares have rallied 149% this year.

The rally in Nvidia comes on the heels of last week's steep sell-off in technology shares after a weak July jobs report and the unwind of the yen "carry trade" spooked investors. Shares have slumped 2.3% over the past month.

— Samantha Subin

Nvidia stock chart is at a 'moment of truth,' technical analyst says

Shares of Nvidia rose 0.3% Friday morning, pushing the bellwether chip stock further above its 50-day moving average of roughly $120 per share.

Frank Gretz, a technical analyst at Wellington Shields, pointed out in a note to clients that the stock has now rebounded to a level where there was a lot of trading earlier in the summer, potentially creating some areas of resistance in addition to the moving average.

"This is a bit of a moment of truth, so to speak. A move above the 50-day would certainly be a positive," the note said.

— Jesse Pound

Gold climbs to intraday all-time high

Gold futures rose 1.4% Friday to $2,526.60, after hitting a new intraday all-time high of $2,537.50.

Week to date, gold futures are up around 2.2%, putting the commodity on pace for its third straight positive week.

The VanEck Gold Miners ETF also gained 2% on Friday and is up nearly 6% for the week.

— Hakyung Kim

Sentiment survey better than expected for August

Consumer sentiment rose more than expected in August while inflation expectations were unchanged, according to the latest University of Michigan survey.

The sentiment index increased to 67.8, up from 66.4 in July and better than the Dow Jones estimate for 66.6. However, the current conditions index slumped to 60.9, its lowest since December 2022, though the expectations index climbed to 72.1.

On inflation, the one- and five-year outlooks held steady at 2.9% and 3.0%, respectively.

— Jeff Cox

Stocks open lower

Stocks edged lower on Friday but were on pace to end the week higher due to a slew of positive economic data in recent days.

The S&P 500 was down 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.39%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 61 points, or 0.33%.

— Brian Evans

Stocks are well on their way for a winning week

The rally on Wall Street in recent days has pushed stocks to notch a strong end to the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average enters Friday trading with a more than 2% advance on the week. The S&P 500 has advanced roughly 3%, while the Nasdaq Composite is up 5%.

— Brian Evans

Housing starts, permits hit lowest levels since June 2020

Housing starts and building permits hit four-year lows in July as elevated interest rates continued to squeeze the industry.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that starts totaled 1.238 million, down 6.8% from June and 16% lower than a year ago. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for 1.34 million. Single-family starts totaled 851,000, off 14.1% from June.

On permits, which are a better leading indicator, the total of 1.396 million marked a 4% decline on the month and 7% annually. The forecast was for 1.42 million. Single-family authorizations were 938,000, down 0.1% on the month.

The totals for both starts and permits were the lowest since June 2020.

— Jeff Cox

H&R Block, Applied Materials, JD.com among stocks making biggest premarket moves

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

• Applied Materials — The semiconductor equipment company's shares dipped 1.8% despite posting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings. Applied Materials earned $2.12 per share, excluding items, on $6.78 billion in revenue for the period, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast $2.02 per share in earnings and $6.67 billion in revenue.
• JD.com — Shares of the Chinese e-commerce group added 3% after reporting a second-quarter revenue beat, driven by price cuts that attracted conscious consumers. JD.com's second-quarter profit rose 73.7% to 9.36 yuan per share, excluding items, while analysts polled by LSEG expected 6.07 yuan per share.
• Estée Lauder — The beauty company slipped nearly 2% after Bank of America downgraded the stock, citing headwinds in its China market. Softening U.S. demand is also weighing upon shares, the firm added.

For the full list, read here.

— Pia Singh

Stock futures edge lower Friday after Wall Street's rally

U.S. stock futures were slightly lower Friday before the opening bell, with investors hoping to extend this week's rally on the heels of encouraging economic data.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 26 points, or 0.06%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures hovered near the flatline.

— Brian Evans

Europe stocks open higher

European stock markets opened higher Friday, adding to weekly gains of more than 2% to date.

Germany's DAX rose 0.28% as France's CAC 40 was 0.15% higher, though the U.K.'s FTSE 100 slipped 0.15%.

— Jenni Reid

Stocks head for winning week

The three major indexes are pacing to finish the week notably higher with just Friday's trading session left.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have added more than 3% and 5%, respectively, on the week. Both are on track to notch their best weekly performances since November. It would also snap four-week losing streaks for each.

The Dow has advanced more than 2%, on pace for its best week since December.

— Alex Harring

See the stocks moving after hours

These are some of the stocks moving in extended trading:

• H&R Block — The tax services stock climbed more than 8% after announcing a 17% dividend increase and $1.5 billion buyback.
• Autodesk — The design technology provider slid nearly 3% after Bloomberg reported that executives continued utilizing a sales strategy despite saying it would stop. The company also ignored risks related to the practice, according to Bloomberg's report.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Stock futures are little changed

Dow and S&P 500 futures both sat near flat shortly after 6 p.m. ET Thursday night. Nasdaq 100 futures shed about 0.1%.

— Alex Harring