Dow Jones Today: Stock Futures Inch Lower After Three Days of Big Gains; Intel Slides, Alphabet Surges After Earnings

Stock futures moved slightly lower Friday after a three-day rally that has put major indexes on track to post weekly gains, while investors keep close tabs on developments related to tariffs. 

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and tech-heavy Nasdaq were each down 0.4% about half an hour before the opening bell, while those linked to the S&P 500 slipped 0.3%. Stocks recorded big gains the past three days as investors reacted to a slew of quarterly earnings reports from major companies and the possibility that President Donald Trump could scale back his tariff plans.

Despite the recent surge—the S&P 500 has gained 3.8% so far this week—uncertainty remains about what will happen with tariffs and what that could mean for the economic outlook. The Trump administration, which earlier this month paused for 90 days its plan to impose wide-ranging “reciprocal” tariffs, has said it’s negotiating with dozens of countries. Investors are particularly focused on U.S.-China trade relations—the countries have imposed tariffs in excess of 100% on one another—amid conflicting reports on where talks between the countries stand.

Shares of major technology companies reporting earnings were among the noteworthy movers ahead of the bell on Friday. Intel (INTC) was down 7% after the chipmaker issued a disappointing outlook that overshadowed better-than-expected first-quarter results. Google parent Alphabet (GOOG) rose 3.5% after a strong earnings report that underscored the company’s AI success.

Other mega-cap stocks were mixed ahead of the bell. Meta Platforms (META) was up 2.5%, while Amazon (AMZN), Nvidia (NVDA) and Tesla (TSLA) inched higher. Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Broadcom (AVGO) were losing ground.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was up 0.3% at 99.65 in recent trading, after falling yesterday for the first time in three days. The index on Monday hit 97.92, its lowest level since March 2022, as concerns about tariffs and their potential impact on the U.S. economy weighed on sentiment.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which influences borrowing costs on all sorts of loans and has bounced around this month amid the economic uncertainty, was at 4.27%, down from 4.31% at Thursday’s close.

Market participants will be keenly watching several important economic indicators that are slated to be released next week, including quarterly GDP numbers, a key inflation reading and the April jobs report.

Gold futures were down 1.4% at $3,305 an ounce this morning. The precious metal hit a record high of near $3,500 earlier this week as investors turned to the traditional safe haven amid the broader market volatility. Crude oil prices were also losing ground, with West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, down 1.3% at $61.95 per barrel.

Bitcoin was at $94,500, up from an overnight low of $92,900.