The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended higher Friday after dovish comments from President Trump on his trade war with China. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended lower rattled by weakness in the chip sector following disappointing third-quarter earnings from Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5%, or 123 points to 25,413, the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, while the Nasdaq slid 0.15%.
Stocks made a move higher after President Trump said that he was hopeful that the U.S. and China could strike a deal on trade. Trade concerns have weighed on stocks in recent months as the world's two largest economies have imposed tariffs on $360 billion worth of goods in an escalating trade war.
Broader investor sentiment, meanwhile, was blunted by conflicting reports over what, if any, progress has been made in the stalled U.S.-China trade talks, with the office of Trade Secretary Robert Lighthizer denying a Financial Times report that said the next round of tariffs on China-made goods was "on hold" ahead of talks between Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping later this month at the G-20 Summit in Argentina.
Shares of Nvidia tumbled 19% to $164.43 after the chipmaker's third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue missed estimates and the company issued weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter guidance.
Nvidia said it expects fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $2.65 billion to $2.75 billion, well below Wall Street's estimate of $3.4 billion. CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia had too much inventory, hurting quarterly results. "Our near-term results reflect excess channel inventory post the crypto-currency boom, which will be corrected," Huang said.
Nvidia Faces $20 Billion Wipeout as Cryptocurrency 'Hangover' Hits Q4 Outlook Nvidia Tumbles on Soft Guidance: 5 Key Takeaways Jim Cramer Correctly Predicted Nvidia's Earnings Miss Back in OctoberThe semiconductor sector took another hit after Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) , the chip equipment giant, reported disappointing fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and forward guidance. The stock rose 1% on Friday after spending most of the morning in negative territory.
Applied Materials Sinks on Earnings MissShares of PG&E Corp. (PCG) rose 38% to $24.40 after Bloomberg reported that the head of the California Public Utilities Commission said he couldn't imagine allowing California's largest utility to go into bankruptcy as it faces billions of dollars in potential liability from deadly wildfires.
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of 67 cents a share, matching analysts' forecasts, and revenue of $3.75 billion that topped estimates of $3.7 billion.
However, the stock fell 14% after the company disclosed it recorded a charge of $72 million in the quarter because it had been charging delinquent card accounts with interest rates that were too high. The charge knocked net profit in the third quarter down to 39 cents a share.
Nordstrom Tumbles After Credit Card Charge, Q3 Same-Stores Sales MissViacom Inc. (VIAB) posted fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 99 cents a share, topping estimates by 4 cents.
Revenue at Viacom, which owns Nickelodeon, MTV and Paramount Pictures, was $3.49 billion in the quarter, topping forecasts of $3.34 billion. The stock rose 4%.
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