Wall Street Rally Pauses, Tesla Heads For Strongest Week In 6 Months: What's Driving Markets Friday?

Author: Piero Cingari | April 25, 2025 12:49pm

Wall Street's three-day rally came to a pause on Friday, with major indices hovering near the flatline by midday in New York as caution returned amid mixed signals on U.S.-China trade relations.

President Donald Trump claimed to have held a phone call with President Xi Jinping, yet Chinese officials denied that any talks had taken place.

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) extended its rally into a fourth consecutive session, notching its best weekly performance of the year with a 16% gain. On Thursday afternoon, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy introduced a new regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles, saying it aimed to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and advance toward a unified national standard.

T-Mobile US Inc. (NYSE:TMUS) was the biggest laggard of the day, falling 11%, on track for its worst single-day loss since March 2020. This came despite better-than-expected earnings, as its core wireless business posted slower growth than analysts had projected.

Among sectors, consumer discretionary led gains, buoyed by Tesla's 8% gain, while materials underperformed.

In fixed income, Treasury yields declined for a fourth straight session, underscoring how critical Trump's early-week reassurance — that he would not dismiss Fed Chair Jerome Powell — was for bond market sentiment.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped 4 basis points to 4.27%, on course for its lowest close since April 8.

In commodities, gold slid 2%, oil held steady at $62 per barrel, and natural gas rose 1% to $3 per million British thermal units, snapping a 10-session losing streak.

In crypto markets, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rose 1.2% to $95,000.

Friday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	Chg
Nasdaq 100	19,250.90	+0.2%
S&P 500	5,488.71	+0.1%
Dow Jones	39,908.60	-0.5%
Russell 2000	1,942.82	-0.8%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) flattened at $546.92.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) eased 0.5% to $399.23.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 0.2% to $468.61.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 0.7% to $192.79.
• The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) outperformed, up 1.1%; the Materials Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB) lagged, down 1.1%.

Friday’s Stock Movers

Stocks reacting to earnings report included:

• Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL): up 1.7%
• T-Mobile US Inc.: down 10.9%
• AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV): up 2.4%
• Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC): down 7.2%
• Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD): down 3.2%
• Aon plc (NYSE:AON): down 11.0%
• Republic Services Inc. (NYSE:RSG): down 0.2%
• Digital Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE:DLR): up 3.0%
• HCA Healthcare Inc. (NYSE:HCA): down 5.2%
• Charter Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR): up 10.3%
• The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE:HIG): down 1.1%
• Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY): down 2.1%
• Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL): up 1.1%
• Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC): down 7.7%
• LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (NYSE:LYB): up 0.0%
• VeriSign Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN): up 9.1%
• Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX): down 2.0%
• Carrier Global Corporation (NYSE:CARR): down 0.5%
• Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB): down 0.7%
• Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE): down 11.8%
• Principal Financial Group Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG): down 1.4%
• Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN): down 6.0%
• Healthpeak Properties Inc. (NYSE:DOC): down 4.7%

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