Stocks rose broadly Friday as Treasury yields eased, leaving Wall Street set to cap off a winning week despite heightened volatility.
The Dow Jones Industrials barreled ahead 294.04 points to 50,579.70.
The S&P 500 climbed 27.75 points to 7,473.47.
The NASDAQ jumped 50.87 points to 26,343.97.
The S&P 500 is up almost 1% week to date, on track for its eighth straight weekly gain. That would be its longest since a nine-week winning streak that ended in late 2023.
The Dow has climbed 2.3% this week and is headed for its third positive week in four. The NASDAQ has added 0.5%, on pace for its seventh weekly advance in the past eight weeks.
Shares of Merck were up $6.54, or 5.6%, to $122.41, on news that its lung cancer treatment with China-based Kelun-Biotech cut tumor progression risk by 65%.
Sacituzumab tirumotecan, the drug, also yielded a survival benefit.
The phase 3 study was conducted in China. The drug was used on patients in combination with Merck’s Keytruda, the company’s immunotherapy used to treat a wide variety of cancers.
Separately, Qualcomm shares ripped $24.75, or 11.6%, to $238.16 on Friday.
It remains unclear whether the U.S. and Iran are inching toward a deal to end their war. On Friday, a Qatari team flew into Tehran in coordination with the U.S. to help secure an agreement to end the conflict, Reuters reported.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury edged up a bit, lowering yields to 4.56% from Thursday’s 4.57%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices skidded eight cents to $96.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dropped $32.40 to $4,510.10 U.S. an ounce.
