Stock market today: Wall Street cruises to more records as it closes its best week in a year

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks cruised to more records as they closed their best week in a year on Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to cap its biggest weekly gain since early November 2023 and briefly crossed above the 6,000 level for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 259 points, or 0.6%, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.1%.

The relatively quiet trading followed huge gains earlier in the week after Donald Trump won the presidential election and the Federal Reserve cut interest rates again to make things easier for the economy.

Axon Enterprise, which sells Tasers and body cameras used by police officers, helped lead the market. It jumped 28.7% after delivering stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also raised its revenue forecast for the full year to $2.07 billion, which would mean 32% growth.

Expedia Group rose 3.8% after likewise topping profit expectations. It said booked room nights rose 9% from a year earlier.

Helping to keep the market in check was Airbnb, which sank 8.7% after the online vacation rental platform posted a mixed third-quarter earnings report and issued forecasts for the fourth quarter that disappointed investors.

Digital pinboard and shopping site Pinterest slid 14% after the company’s revenue guidance came in lower than investors expected, even as it easily beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 22.44 points to 5,995.54. The Dow gained 259.65 to 43,988.99, and the Nasdaq composite edged up 17.32 to 19,286.78.

In the bond market, longer-term Treasury yields eased.

A preliminary report in the morning suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers rose for a fourth straight month to its highest level in six months. The survey from the University of Michigan, which was conducted before Tuesday’s election, also said expectations for inflation in the coming year eased to the lowest level since 2020.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.30% from 4.33% late Thursday. But it’s still well above where it was in mid-September, when it was close to 3.60%.

Treasury yields climbed in large part because the U.S. economy has remained much more resilient than feared. The hope is that it can continue to stay solid as the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates in order to keep the job market humming, now that it’s helped get inflation nearly down to its 2% target.

Some of the rise in yields has also been because of Trump. He talks up tariffs and other policies that economists say could drive inflation and the U.S. government’s debt higher, along with the economy’s growth.

Traders have already begun paring forecasts for how many cuts to rates the Fed will deliver next year because of that. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.

In stock markets abroad, Trump’s talk about tariffs has raised worries about possible trade tensions and disruptions to the global economy.

European indexes mostly sank to close out a losing week.

Markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai fell as investors awaited much-anticipated steps by Beijing to rev up the slowing Chinese economy following a meeting of the legislature’s Standing Committee. Officials announced a 6 trillion yuan ($839 billion), three-year plan to help local governments refinance their many trillions of debt that has ballooned during the COVID-19 pandemic and a collapse of the property market.

Financial markets worldwide have swung sharply as investors lay bets on what Trump’s plans for higher tariffs, lower tax rates and lighter regulation could mean for the global economy. But many professional investors have also urged caution, saying snaps back in prices could occur as it becomes more clear what proposals will become policy versus just starting points for negotiations.

“Our experience is that such narrow reactions have not historically made for durable investment opportunities, and we favor pausing to look more closely at the likely main policy initiatives,” according to Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

U.S. banks and the stocks of more domestically focused companies have seen some of the wildest moves, as some of the poster children of the “Trump trade.”

The stock that’s become most synonymous with the president-elect, Trump Media & Technology Group, rose 15.2% Friday in its latest sharp swing to wipe out what had been a loss for the week.

AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed to this report.

Specialist Mike Pistillo, left and trader Peter Tuchman wear "S&P 6000" hats on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Michael Capolinoi works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A pair of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Robert Charmak works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader William Lovesick, left, and specialist James Denaro work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A pair of traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in New York, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell news conference in Washington is displayed on a monitor. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Comments by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appear on a bank of screens on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A screen at a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays the Federal Reserve interest rate decision, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

People stand in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Tokyo Stock Price index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting around their records ahead of the week’s first big update on how well the job market is doing. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% in early trading Tuesday, a day after rising tech stocks helped it set an all-time high for the 54th time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 41 points, while the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3% from its own record set a day earlier. AT&T rose after raising its profit forecast for the full year. U.S. Steel fell after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan’s Nippon Steel take over the iconic steelmaker.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Markets were slow to gain traction in either direction early Tuesday, a day after a surging technology sector boosted Wall Street to another record finish.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 were essentially unchanged before the bell.

Trade relations between the U.S. and China took another step backward after China said it is banning exports to the U.S. of gallium, germanium, antimony and other key high-tech materials with potential military applications.

The counterpunch came swiftly after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded the list of Chinese technology companies subject to export controls to include many that make equipment used to make computer chips, chipmaking tools and software. The 140 companies newly included in the so-called “entity list” are nearly all based in China.

The ratcheting up of trade restrictions comes as President-elect Donald Trump has been threatening to sharply raise tariffs on imports from China and other countries.

In equities trading, Tesla shares slipped less than 1% after a Delaware judge late Monday reaffirmed a previous ruling that the electric car maker must revoke Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package. The judge denied a request by attorneys for Musk and Tesla’s corporate directors to vacate her ruling earlier this year requiring the company to rescind the unprecedented pay package.

The proposed Musk compensation package initially carried a potential maximum value of about $56 billion, but that sum has fluctuated over the years based on Tesla’s stock price.

U.S. Steel shares tumbled more than 8% after President-elect Donald Trump reiterated on social media that he would not let Japan's Nippon Steel take over the iconic Pennsylvania steelmaker.

Nippon Steel announced last December that it planned to buy the Pittsburgh-based steel producer for $14.1 billion in cash, raising concerns about what the transaction could mean for unionized workers, supply chains and U.S. national security.

Earlier this year, President Joe Biden also came out against the acquisition.

In Europe at midday, France's CAC 40 rose 0.3%, Germany's DAX ticked up 0.1%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7%.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9% to finish at 39,248.86. Shares in Tokyo Electron surged 4.3% after the U.S. Commerce Department expanded the list of Chinese computer chip-related companies subject to export controls.

Some analysts think Japanese stocks could end up benefiting from President-elect Donald Trump’s latest threats to raise tariffs on China and other countries. During the weekend, Trump threatened 100% tariffs against a group of developing economies, including China and Brazil, if they act to undermine the U.S. dollar.

Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.3% and the Sensex in India was up 0.8%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6% to 8,495.20. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.9% to 2,500.10, after inflation data showed a rebound but remained low enough to keep rate-cut hopes alive for early 2025.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.0% to 19,746.32, while the Shanghai Composite edged up 0.4% to 3,378.81. Unconfirmed reports said Chinese leaders would meet next week to discuss planning for the coming year, an annual economic work meeting that investors are hoping to bring fresh stimulus to help spur growth in the world's second-largest economy.

This week also brings several big updates on the U.S. job market, including the October job openings report, weekly unemployment benefits data and the all-important November jobs report. They could steer the next moves for Federal Reserve, which recently began pulling interest rates lower to give support to the economy.

Economists expect Friday’s headliner report to show U.S. employers accelerated their hiring in November, coming off October’s lackluster growth that was hampered by damaging hurricanes and strikes.

In energy trading early Tuesday, benchmark U.S. crude gained 93 cents to $69.03 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 92 cents to $72.75 a barrel.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 149.85 Japanese yen from 149.59 yen. The euro inched up to $1.0513 from $1.0500.

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.2% from the previous session’s all-time high to post a record for the 54th time this year, closing at 6,047.15. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 44,782.00, while the Nasdaq composite gained 1% to 19,403.95.

Holiday decorations are shown in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

FILE - Pedestrians cross Wall Street in New York's Financial District on Nov. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

A person rides a bicycle in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person walks in front of Tokyo Stock Exchange building Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader passes by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)