Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq rise with Wall Street set to wrap up latest volatile week

Carnival’s (CCL) strong 2026 guidance was the tide that lifted all cruise stocks on Friday.

Carnival stock surged over 8% in midday trading, while Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH) rose 6% and Royal Caribbean (RCL) gained about 3%.

Even as sentiment in the US has soured this year, Carnival’s quarterly results showed that consumers continue to spend on cruises.

“Demand for our cruise lines is proving far more resilient than traditional macro indicators would suggest,” Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein said on the company’s earnings call. Weinstein noted that Carnival is already about two-thirds booked for next year at historically high prices for North America and Europe.

For next year, Carnival expects adjusted net income to grow approximately 12% year over year on less than 1% capacity growth. The company expects full-year adjusted diluted earnings per share of $2.48, ahead of Wall Street’s estimates.

Nike (NKE) stock fell 9% during Friday’s session, dragging other footwear stocks lower.

Shares of Deckers Outdoor (DECK), the maker of Hoka sneakers, dropped 1.3%, while shares of On Running (ONON) declined by 0.3% and Crocs (CROX) fell 1.2%. Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), which sells Nike sneakers and apparel directly and recently acquired Foot Locker, traded slightly higher as of 11 a.m.

Nike earnings and revenue beat Wall Street estimates for its fiscal second quarter, but profits declined as the athletic apparel company faces dual headwinds from tariffs and China.

On the company’s earnings call, CEO Elliott Hill said Nike is in the “middle innings of our comeback.”

“We highlighted last quarter that it will take more time to return to healthy growth in Greater China and Converse, and we expect headwinds to continue for the balance of the fiscal year,” Nike CFO Matthew Friend said on the call. “As we highlighted last quarter, we are also navigating new structural headwinds from the $1.5 billion of annualized incremental product costs due to higher US tariffs.”

Nvidia (NVDA) stock jumped 3.7% half an hour after the open, putting the AI chip stalwart on track for a weekly gain.

The AI stalwart led the “Magnificent Seven” stocks in gains on Friday after the Trump administration began its review of Nvidia H200 chip exports to China (scroll for more detail). Investors cheered the move as a sign that President Trump was moving ahead with his promise to allow Nvidia to sell advanced chips to China in exchange for a 25% fee to the government.

Other chipmakers and chip developers rallied in early trading. AMD (AMD) climbed nearly 5%, while Intel (INTC) advanced 3%. Broadcom (AVGO) rose 2.5%. Micron (MU) investors extended their post-earnings buying spree, with the stock rising 7% on Friday after Thursday’s 10% gain.

DraftKings (DKNG) stock gained 1.7% just ahead of the opening bell on Friday after the company said it has formally entered the prediction markets.

Under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), DraftKings will set up a mobile app and web offering that will allow users to bet on future outcomes. Event contracts in sports and financial markets will be available initially in 38 states, although the company plans to expand to additional categories, such as entertainment and culture.

Prediction markets have boomed in 2025 as a lighter regulatory touch by the Trump administration has opened the floodgates for platforms to cash in. In late November, Robinhood (HOOD) expanded its fast-growing prediction market services as new competitors try to take share from the incumbents, Kalshi and Polymarket.

But some warn of the behavioral risks inherent in prediction markets, saying that the speculative nature of the markets could create credit stress down the road if bettors struggle to pay their bills.

Read more: What are prediction markets and how do they work?

US Treasury prices fell on Friday, lifting yields, after the Bank of Japan hiked its policy rate to its highest level in 30 years.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) rose 3 basis points to 4.15% while the 30-year yield (^TYX) hit 4.83%. The 5-year yield (^FVX) increased to 3.69%.

Global bond yields rose after the Bank of Japan raised its policy rate by 0.25% to 0.75%, its highest level since 1995, as it kept rates near zero for years in an effort to fight deflation.

The effects of Japan’s rate hike have ripple effects in the US too: The increase in Japanese rates could make the so-called carry trade — in which investors borrow cheaply in Japan and then seek higher-yielding US Treasurys and other assets — less attractive.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, the European Central Bank kept rates steady at 2% for the fourth consecutive time. And a little over a week ago, the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the third time this year to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%

Oil headed for its second weekly decline as concerns about a growing glut continued to weigh on prices.

Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, rose 0.6% to $60 a barrel on Friday morning but was down 1.4% on the week. West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, gained 0.8% to trade hands at $56 a barrel but was down 1.7% for the week.

Oil prices declined for the week even as a Ukrainian strike on an oil tanker connected to Russia’s shadow fleet escalated a string of attacks in the Mediterranean.

From Bloomberg:

Read more here.

If history is any guide, stocks will keep pushing higher through the end of December and into January, according to Wall Street strategists.

Bloomberg reports:

Read more here.

The Trump administration has launched a review that could result in Nvidia (NVDA) being allowed to make its first shipments of advanced AI chips to China, sources told Reuters.

Shares of the chipmaking giant rose before the bell as investors welcomed the sign that President Trump will make good on his pledge to allow the controversial sales of the H200 chips.

Reuters reports:

Read more here.

Nike reported a drop in quarterly profits, citing a drag from higher US tariffs and continued weakness in China in its results on Thursday.

Shares in the sneaker giant tumbled 10% in premarket after the sharp fall in China revenue prompted CEO Elliott Hill to say improvements “are not happening at the pace we like.”

AFP reports:

Read more here.

Bloomberg reports:

Gold (GC=F) and silver (SI=F) hovered near record highs, after slower-than-expected inflation in the US supported bets for more interest-rate cuts. Platinum (PL=F) was close to a 17-year peak.

Spot gold was near $4,320 an ounce in Asia hours on Friday, and on track for a second weekly gain. The core US consumer price index rose at the slowest pace since early 2021, according to data released on Thursday, bolstering the case for lower borrowing costs – a tailwind for non-yielding precious metals.

… Precious metals have been on a scorching rally this year, with both gold and silver set for their best annual performances since 1979. Silver has more than doubled and gold has jumped about two-thirds on a run underpinned by elevated central-bank buying and inflows into bullion-backed exchange-traded funds.

Falling US interest rates have led ETF investors “to start competing for limited bullion with central banks,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts including Daan Struyven said in a note. “We expect the same two drivers — structurally high central-bank demand and cyclical support from Fed cuts — to lift the gold price further.”

Read more here.