U.S. stocks traded higher midway through trading, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining more than 200 points on Friday.

The Dow traded up 0.27% to 49,526.91 while the NASDAQ rose 1.03% to 22,917.24. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.62% to 6,904.13.

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Leading and Lagging Sectors

Communication services shares gained by 2.3% on Friday.

In trading on Thursday, health care stocks fell by 0.7%.

Top Headline

PPL Corporation (NYSE:PPL) reported mixed fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results.

Operating revenue came in at $2.27 billion, below the consensus estimate of $2.42 billion. Adjusted EPS was 41 cents, in line with analyst expectations.

The company raised its quarterly dividend by 4.6% to 28.50 cents per share from 27.25 cents. PPL projects 2026 EPS in the range of $1.90 to $1.98, compared with the consensus estimate of $1.95. The company also extended its 6% to 8% annual EPS and dividend growth targets through 2029.

Equities Trading UP
           

• Tandem Diabetes Care Inc (NASDAQ:TNDM) shares shot up 35% to $24.98 after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly financial results. Also, B of A Securities upgraded the stock from Underperform to Neutral and raised its price target from $15 to $30.
• Shares of Mangoceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:MGRX) got a boost, surging 47% to $0.52 after the company announced initial success for its newly launched all-inclusive injectable Testosterone Replacement Therapy treatment program.
• RingCentral Inc (NYSE:RNG) shares were also up, gaining 37% to $40.36 after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results and issued first-quarter guidance above estimates and initiated a quarterly dividend. Also, the company increased its share buyback program.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Blue Hat Interactv Entrtnmnt Technlgy (NASDAQ:BHAT) shares dropped 75% to $0.11 after the company announced the pricing of its public offering of 32 million units at $0.20.
• Shares of Twin Vee Powercats Co (NASDAQ:VEEE) were down 53% to $0.44 after the company announced the pricing of its public offering of 32 million units at $0.20.
• Grail Inc (NASDAQ:GRAL) was down, falling 47% to $53.46 after the company reported worse-than-expected Q4 sales results. Topline results for HS-Galleri Trial did not meet its primary endpoint of statistically significant Stage III-IV reduction.

Commodities

In commodity news, oil traded down 0.4% to $66.15 while gold traded up 0.8% at $5,038.40.

Silver traded up 4.1% to $80.80 on Friday, while copper rose 1.4% to $5.8205.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.73%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.52%. London's FTSE 100 rose 0.75%, Germany's DAX gained 0.66% and France's CAC 40 jumped 1.29% during the session.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei falling 1.12%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index falling 1.10% and India's BSE Sensex gaining 0.38%.

Economics

• The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index was revised lower to 56.6 in February from a preliminary reading of 57.3, and versus January's reading of 56.4.
• The S&P Global services PMI declined to 52.3 in February from 52.7 in the previous month.
• The S&P Global manufacturing PMI dropped to 51.2 in February from 52.4 in the previous month, and missing market estimates of 52.6.
• The U.S. PCE price index increased 0.4% month-over-month in December compared to a 0.2% gain in November, and versus market expectations of 0.3%.
• U.S. personal spending rose 0.4% month-over-month in December, in-line with November's pace, while personal income increased by 0.3% month-over-month to $26.512 trillion in December.
• The U.S. economy grew by an annualized rate of 1.4% in the fourth quarter, the least since the first quarter of 2025, and compared to a 4.4% growth in the third quarter and down from market estimates of 3%.

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