Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Inch Higher as Investors Await New Developments on Tariffs; Bitcoin Keeps Rising

May 9, 2025
dow-jones-today:-stock-futures-inch-higher-as-investors-await-new-developments-on-tariffs;-bitcoin-keeps-rising

Stocks were down slightly Friday afternoon following two straight days of gains as investors awaited further developments on tariffs.

The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were each down 0.3% recently, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.5%, as each of the indexes had given up earlier gains. Stocks were coming off of winning session on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced a trade agreement with the U.K. and indicated that more deals are on the way.

The Dow entered Friday’s session up slightly for the week, while the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and the Nasdaq was off 0.3%. If the major indexes manage to post gains for the week, it would mark three straight weeks that all three have done so, which would be the first time since October that has happened.

Investors will be particularly focused on any news related to tariffs on China, ahead of highly anticipated trade talks that are scheduled for this weekend in Switzerland between U.S. and Chinese officials. Trump said yesterday that the talks could be “very substantive” and that tariffs on China, which currently stand at 145%, could be lowered if the discussions go well.

Market participants will also be keeping tabs today on remarks from several Federal Reserve officials who are due to speak. The Fed’s policy committee on Wednesday decided to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged, much to Trump’s frustration. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that tariffs have raised the risks of higher inflation and unemployment, but that the central bank needs more data on how trade policy is affecting the economy before adjusting monetary policy.

Mega-cap tech stocks were mixed on Friday. Tesla (TSLA) shares rose 4.5%, putting the EV maker on pace for its third straight week of gains, while Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) inched higher. Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOG), Meta Platforms (META) and Broadcom (AVGO) were all down less than 1%.

The earnings reporting calendar was relatively light, but a handful of companies were making big moves Friday after releasing quarterly results. Social media service Pinterest (PINS) and cybersecurity provider Cloudflare (NET) rose 5% and 7%, respectively, while travel booking platform Expedia (EXPE) dropped 7.5% and buy-now, pay-later company Affirm (AFRM) plunged 13%.

Bitcoin continued gaining ground after surging above $100,000 on Thursday for the first time since February. The digital currency was at $102,700 recently, up from an overnight low of $101,300.

Gold futures were up 1.2% at $3,345 an ounce after two straight days of declines, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose 1.4% to $60.75 per barrel, trading near their highest level of the month after hitting a four-year low last week.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, notably mortgages, was unchanged from yesterday’s close at 4.37%. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.3% at 100.33, after hitting its highest level in a month during yesterday’s session.

Expedia Slides as US Travel Demand Slumps

14 minutes ago

Shares of Expedia Group (EXPE) tumbled Friday, a day after the travel platform’s first-quarter results came in worse than expected and it lowered its full-year outlook amid weak U.S. demand.

The company behind its namesake travel booking platform and others like Vrbo and Hotels.com reported revenue of $2.99 billion and $31.45 billion in total bookings, both up from the same time last year but below what analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected.

Expedia posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.40, up 90% year-over-year and better than Visible Alpha consensus, but its reported net loss per share of $1.56 was more than triple the $0.42 that analysts had forecast.

CEO Ariane Gorin said the company managed to grow bookings and revenue “despite weaker than expected demand in the U.S.” as consumer sentiment has worsened amid tariff-fueled uncertainty. Gorin added on the earnings call that travel trends continued to be soft through April, and said more European customers appear to be traveling to other locales like Latin America rather than the U.S., according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense.

CFO Scott Schenkel said Expedia projects 2% to 4% bookings growth and 3% to 5% revenue growth in the second quarter, but the company trimmed its full-year forecast for both metrics to 2% to 4% growth from the 4% to 6% rate they laid out in last quarter’s earnings call.

Expedia shares were down 8% recently, after falling as much as 12% earlier in the session. The stock is now down 16% since the start of the year.

Aaron McDade

Cloudflare Stock Surges as Revenue Tops Estimates

46 minutes ago

Cloudflare (NET) shares took off Friday, a day after the provider of cloud services beat revenue estimates as it signed a pair of big contracts.

The company reported first-quarter revenue jumped 27% year-over-year to $479.1 million, beating Visible Alpha estimates by about $10 million. However, adjusted earnings per share of $0.16 came in a penny below forecasts. 

CEO and co-founder Matthew Prince said Cloudflare scored the largest contract in its history, a more than $100 million deal driven by its Workers developer platform. It also signed its longest-term secure access service edge (SASE) contract ever. 

Prince added that Cloudflare has “the scale, the technology, and the team to capture the massive opportunity ahead of us.”

The company sees full-year adjusted EPS of $0.79 to $0.80, and revenue of $2.090 billion to $2.094 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $0.80 and $2.095 billion, respectively. 

Shares of Cloudflare were up 7% recently and have gained about 24% since the start of 2025.

Bill McColl

Tesla Jumps, on Track for 3rd Straight Week of Gains

1 hr 42 min ago

Tesla (TSLA) shares jumped Friday, adding to the previous session’s solid gains and putting the stock on track to post gains for the third consecutive week.

The stock was recently up 5% at around $300, after hitting $307 earlier, its highest price since February. The surge came amid optimism about the possibility the U.S. will strike more trade deals after the Trump administration reached an agreement with the U.S. yesterday.

The gains for Tesla’s stock come after a downbeat start to the week following a string of bad news about declining sales and registrations in several countries across Europe and China. The shares are still down about 25% since the start of the year.

Even with their recent surge, Tesla shares have lost about a quarter of their value since the start of the year, significantly lagging the performance of the benchmark S&P 500 index.

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Investors will be looking for updates in the coming weeks on Tesla’s plans for its self-driving robotaxis, as the company said in last month’s earnings report that it still plans to start offering paid rides in Model Y vehicles in Austin, Texas by the end of next month.

Aaron McDade

Pinterest Soars as Revenue, User Numbers Top Estimates

2 hr 50 min ago

Pinterest (PINS) shares soared in early trading Friday, a day after the social media service reported first-quarter revenue and global monthly active user figures that topped estimates.

The company posted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.01 on revenue that increased 17% year-over-year on a constant currency basis to $855.0 million. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha projected a loss of a penny per share on revenue of $846.9 million. Adjusted EPS of $0.23 missed estimates.

The San Francisco-based firm’s monthly active users increased 10% to a record 570 million, beating estimates of 563.4 million.

Pinterest, which has rolled out artificial intelligence (AI) tools for advertisers, said it expects second-quarter revenue between $960 million and $980 million, which would represent 12% to 15% growth. The midpoint of the range exceeded Visible Alpha consensus of $964.2 million.

“The fundamentals in the business are strong and we’re continuing to see healthy growth,” Pinterest CEO Bill Ready said. “Our AI advancements are helping users take action and make more intentional shopping decisions.”

Pinterest shares were up 10% in recent trading. The stock entered Friday down 4% year-to-date.

Nisha Gopalan

Stocks Aiming for Third Straight Week of Gains

3 hr 36 min ago

With stocks on the rise early Friday, major U.S. indexes could be on track to do something that hasn’t happened in more than six months.

Entering today’s session, the Dow was up slightly for the week, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were each down less than half a percent. If they all manage to post gains for the week, it would mark three straight weeks that they have done so, which would be the first time since the first three weeks of October that has happened.

The major indexes have rebounded from their lows in early April, when President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of hefty tariffs on leading trade partners sent stocks reeling.

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The recent rally has substantially narrowed the year-to-date declines for the major indexes. Through Thursday’s close, the Dow was down 2.8% since the start of 2025, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had given up 3.7% and 7.2%, respectively.

Bitcoin Levels to Watch as Cryptocurrency Continues Surging

4 hr 24 min ago

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) is on the rise again Friday after surging above the closely watched $100,000 level yesterday for the first time since early February.

The legacy cryptocurrency rallied along with stocks after President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a trade agreement with the U.K and expressed optimism about trade talks with China that are slated to take place this weekend.

Bitcoin’s price had fallen sharply between February and April, weighed down by uncertainty about tariffs and their potential impact on the economy, as well as disappointment with the pace of reforms by the Trump administration to support the crypto industry. With the latest surge, bitcoin is about 40% above last month’s low.

Bitcoin was at $103,100 in recent trading, up from an overnight low of $101,300.

After reclaiming the 200-day moving average last month, bitcoin traded within a narrow consolidation period before yesterday’s strong breakout above the $100,000 mark. The move sets the stage for a potential retest of the cryptocurrency’s record high established at $109,000 in late January.

Source: TradingView.com.

Meanwhile, the relative strength index confirms bullish price momentum with a reading above the 70 threshold, though the indicator also cautions overbought  conditions that could lead to short-term profit-taking.

It’s important to note that trading volumes on Coinbase (COIN), the largest  crypto exchange in the United States, have declined since bitcoin’s move higher started in early April, indicating larger market participants may be sitting out the current rally.

Investors should watch crucial overhead areas on bitcoin’s chart around $107,000 and $120,000, while also monitoring key support levels near $100,000 and $92,000.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

Timothy Smith

Major Index Futures Inch Higher

5 hr 2 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.2%.

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S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%.

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Nasdaq 100 futures also added 0.3%.

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