Eight of 11 US equity sectors closed higher on Friday, driven by strength in Technology and Materials. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund rose 1.41%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund fell 0.32%, creating a spread of 1.73 percentage points between the best and worst performers.

The broader market advanced, with the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust gaining 1.04% and the Invesco QQQ Trust rising 1.53%. Small-cap exposure via the iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund increased 1.50%, outpacing the Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, which added 0.57%.

Sector performance breakdown

The following table details the closing performance of major sector ETFs:

Leading sectors

Technology led the session, supported by significant gains in large-cap constituents. Oracle Corp rose 4.87%, Broadcom Inc gained 3.71%, and NVIDIA Corp advanced 2.55%. The Materials sector followed closely, with Linde PLC up 2.34%, Air Products and Chemicals Inc rising 2.25%, and Ecolab Inc adding 1.34%.

Consumer Discretionary also posted strong results, propelled by Tesla Inc's 5.40% surge. Amazon.com Inc climbed 1.62%, while The Home Depot Inc edged up 0.71%.

Lagging sectors

Energy was the weakest performer, declining 0.32%. ConocoPhillips fell 0.87%, Chevron Corp dropped 0.67%, and ExxonMobil Holdings Corp slipped 0.62%. Health Care retreated slightly by 0.18%, with Merck & Co Inc down 0.56%, Johnson & Johnson falling 0.46%, and AbbVie Inc decreasing 0.14%. Consumer Staples remained nearly flat, dipping 0.05%, as Coca-Cola Co fell 0.63% and Costco Wholesale Corp declined 0.13%, offsetting a marginal 0.06% rise in PepsiCo Inc.

What the numbers show

The market advance was concentrated rather than broad-based. While eight sectors finished higher, the top three (Technology, Materials, Consumer Discretionary) were separated by less than 0.20 percentage points. Defensive sectors lagged significantly: Real Estate ranked sixth and Health Care tenth among the eleven sectors. This divergence suggests investors favored growth-oriented assets over traditional safe havens during the session.

US stock futures point to a higher open for the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq 100 indices. Investors are focused on the upcoming September jobs report, with nonfarm payrolls projected to rise by 90,000 and the unemployment rate expected to hold steady at 4.1%.

If met, the payroll gain would mark a slowdown from August’s 162,000 increase while remaining comfortably above the 12-month average of 50,300. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF and other major tracking instruments were higher in premarket trading.

Market performance and key movers

Futures indicate positive momentum across major benchmarks. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust rose 0.52% to $767.99, while the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF advanced 0.86% to $748.4 in premarket activity.

Several individual stocks are in focus following significant corporate developments:

• Nike Inc. plunged over 10.2% in premarket trading after reporting mixed first-quarter financial results. Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate a weak price trend across long, short, and medium terms with a poor quality score.
• Synaptics Inc. surged 14.45% after announcing it will be acquired by ON Semiconductor Corp for $123 per share under a revised agreement. The company maintains a strong long-term price trend but weak short-term momentum.
• AsiaStrategy was 7.5% higher after disclosing a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Plume to advance real-world asset tokenization across Asia.
• Mangoceuticals Inc. plunged 10.28% after announcing its former subsidiary secured a $2.5 million strategic investment.
• Corteva Inc. declined by 1.03% after spinning out its seeds and genetics company, Vylor Inc. The firm shows a weak price trend with a poor growth score.

Macroeconomic backdrop and analyst views

The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 5.24%, and the 2-year Treasury bond yielded 4.79%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool projections show markets pricing in a 23.8% likelihood of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates after its October meeting.

Alex Sagal, Global Equity Analyst at Wells Fargo, notes that the US economy is navigating stronger currents driven by resilient economic growth, persistent inflation, and elevated borrowing costs. While higher interest rates create challenges for borrowers, Sagal states that higher rates do not automatically sink the market for equities.

Wells Fargo maintains a favorable view on US large-cap equities, citing resilient earnings, strong balance sheets, pricing power, and continued artificial-intelligence investment. In contrast, the firm holds an unfavorable view on smaller companies due to greater refinancing exposure and weaker profitability.

Commodities and global markets

Crude Oil WTI futures traded lower by 3.81% to hover around $89.33 per barrel. Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.11% to $4,181.73 per ounce, while the US Dollar Index spot was 0.18% lower at 101.91. Bitcoin was trading 3.40% higher at $86,359 per coin over the last 24 hours.

Asian markets were mixed on Friday. Australia’s ASX 200, South Korea’s Kospi, and China’s CSI 300 indices rose, while India’s Nifty 50, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 indices fell. European markets were higher in early trading.

What the numbers show

The divergence between the projected September payroll gain of 90,000 and August’s 162,000 indicates a cooling labor market, yet the figure remains significantly above the 12-month average of 50,300. This suggests that while hiring momentum is slowing, it is not contracting, supporting the narrative of resilient economic growth cited by analysts despite elevated borrowing costs.