Wall Street opens mixed with two of the three major benchmarks on pace for their third consecutive weekly advance. The S&P 500 rose 0.05%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.13%, helped by gains in chip stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average on the other hand is down 0.04% minutes after opening.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are on track for their third consecutive weekly gains, with both benchmarks up around 0.6% so far this week. The Dow, however, is down 0.6% week-to-date. The week has been a record-setting one for the S&P 500. The benchmark crossed the 7,800 mark for the first time on Thursday and hit an intraday record high of 7,816.70. It also closed at a record in the previous session.
Technology and communication services were among the strongest-performing sectors, with both gaining roughly 1% on Thursday as investors continued to favour large technology stocks. The Nasdaq's gains on Friday were again supported by semiconductor stocks, as investors continued to pile into companies seen as key beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence investment boom.
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SanDisk was among the biggest movers in early trading. The stock hit a high of $1,646, representing a gain of 7.7% from the previous close. The move came after JPMorgan upgraded SanDisk to overweight. The brokerage said the memory chipmaker still has room to rise, citing strong demand for memory linked to the artificial intelligence boom. SanDisk has surged roughly sixfold in 2026, highlighting the strength of the current AI-driven semiconductor rally.
The broader chip sector has also remained in focus as investors assess whether strong demand for AI infrastructure can sustain elevated valuations across the technology space.
The gains in technology stocks came despite disappointing US retail sales data. US retail sales fell 0.6% in July from the previous month, sharply missing economists' expectations for a 0.1% increase. Excluding automobiles, retail sales declined 0.3%.
Brent crude initially jumped nearly 2% on Friday before reversing the move and trading around $87 a barrel.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%. The euro rose 0.3% to $1.1568, while the British pound gained 0.4% to $1.3539.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.4% to 158.84 per dollar.
In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $62,780.87.
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