US stocks end a down week with a gain

US stocks shook off their midweek slump with a strong finish on Friday, as the S&P 500 notched a 0.6% gain, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.4%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a nearly 1% gain.

However, the benchmark US stock index posted a negative week, as was prophesied by the calendar.

Every S&P 500 sector ETF was positive on the day, with utilities, consumer discretionary, materials, and healthcare all up at least 1%.

Gains on the day were led by Electronic Arts, which soared nearly 15% following a Wall Street Journal report that the video game giant is nearing a roughly $50 billion deal to go private. Shares of rival Take-Two also popped 4.5%. Declines were led by Oracle, which dipped 2.7%.

Shares of Boeing jumped 3.6% following a report that the plane maker could soon face fewer obstacles in delivering its aircraft to customers.

Tesla climbed 4% as Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives hiked his price target on the stock to $600 from $500, saying investors are “underestimating the transformation underway at the company” regarding AI.

Ford and GM rose 3.4% and 1.1%, respectively, with both stocks trading at 52-week highs as investors pile into gas-powered US automakers with the looming end of the EV tax credit and the Trump administration’s potential repeal of vehicle emissions standards.

GameStop moved 4.6% higher as the company offers promotions to boost interest for its North American launch of the Mega Evolution set of the “Pokémon Trading Card Game.”

Intel jumped 4.4% following a Wall Street Journal report that the chipmaker approached TSMC about potential investments or manufacturing partnerships, as well as a separate WSJ report on potential Trump administration plans to boost domestic chip production.

Crocs rose 6.6% as the footwear company’s HeyDude brand unveiled a new marketing effort starring actress Sydney Sweeney for its Austin Lift shoe line.

Shares of Restoration Hardware slid 4.3% after President Trump announced 50% tariffs on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, and 30% tariffs on upholstered goods. Peers Wayfair and Williams-Sonoma also initially dipped on the news but later reversed losses.

Shares of bitcoin miner and AI compute power provider IREN slumped 9.6% after JPMorgan analyst Reggie Smith downgraded the stock to “underweight” from “neutral,” marking the first sell rating for the stock.