Post-Bell | Nasdaq Notches Record High Close. Quantum Stocks Shine with IonQ up 18%; Crypto Shares Rally with BitMine up 15%; Tesla Surges 7%; Microsoft Gains 1.8%

The Nasdaq notched a record high close on Friday in a mixed trading session, lifted by Microsoft as investors looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week, when it is widely expected to cut interest rates to counter a slowdown in the jobs market.

Market Snapshot

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 273.78 points, or 0.59%, to 45,834.22, the S&P 500 lost 3.18 points, or 0.05%, to 6,584.29 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 98.03 points, or 0.44%, to 22,141.10.

Market Movers

Warner Bros. Discovery soared 17% following the stock's surge Thursday of 29% -- its largest daily percentage increase on record -- after The Wall Street Journal reported Paramount Skydance was preparing a takeover bid that would be backed by the Ellison family. Paramount's majority cash bid would be for the entire company including its cable networks and movie studio, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Tesla rose 7.4%. The move followed a gain of 6% on Thursday for shares of the electric-vehicle maker, which rose in part on U.S. inflation data that was in line with economists' estimates and firmed up the belief the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates. Since cars are generally financed, auto companies benefit from lower rates.

Crypto shares rallied on Friday. Upexi soared 19%; BitMine up over 15%; DeFi Dev up 10%; SharpLink Gaming, BTCS up around 8%.

IonQ surged 18% to $55.61. The quantum computing company said it had secured regulatory approval from the UK Investment Security Unit for its acquisition of Oxford Ionics, a British start-up. Other quantum stocks also rallied. SEALSQ up over 17%; Rigetti Computing up over 14%; D-Wave Quantum Inc. up over 7%.

Super Micro Computer rose 2.4% after beginning shipments of its artificial-intelligence Blackwell Ultra solutions powered by Nvidia chips to customers worldwide. The systems includes Nvidia's plug-and-play HGX B300 system and GB300 NVL72, which are used for training AI models. Nvidia gained 0.4%.

Adobe fell 0.3%. The software company posted fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates, and issued forecasts for the fourth quarter and fiscal year that also topped expectations. Adobe said 99% of Fortune 100 companies have used artificial intelligence in an Adobe app, and more than 40% of its top 50 enterprise accounts doubled their annualized recurring revenue spending since the start of fiscal 2023. Shares are down 22% this year.

Moderna tumbled 7.4% after the Washington Post reported that Trump-appointed health officials were planning to link Covid-19 vaccines to 25 child deaths. Officials could include the claim in a presentation to an expert panel of CDC advisers next week, the Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Gemini Space Station surged 14%. The stock made its trading debut Friday at $37.01, up 32% from its initial public offering price of $28. Gemini is a cryptocurrency brokerage firm run by twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

Figma, an Adobe rival, fell 5.2% following a 9.6% jump Thursday. A deal for Adobe to acquire the software maker for $20 billion fell through in 2022 on regulatory concerns, particularly from the European Commission and the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority.

Microsoft rose 1.8% after reaching a deal to extend its partnership with OpenAI. The current AI investment boom began with ChatGPT's debut in late 2022, and it wouldn't have been possible without funding from Microsoft and access to its Azure cloud. But the relationship has frayed, as both companies' AI ambitions outgrew their partnership.

RH dropped 4.6% after the home furnishings retailer's second-quarter earnings widely missed consensus estimates and revenue came up short of Wall Street targets. The company also reduced its current fiscal-year revenue outlook, saying it expects revenue growth of 9% to 11%, down from its prior guidance of 10% to 13%. RH said its updated outlook "reflects a $30 million cost of incremental tariffs, net of mitigation, in the second half."

Figure Technology Solutions rose 4.5% to $32.50. Shares of the company, which uses blockchain technology to help generate home equity lines of credit, opened Thursday at $36 and ended the session at $31.11, a gain of 24% over its initial public offering price of $25.

Shares of Opendoor Technologies fell 14% after the real estate technology platform closed Thursday at $10.48, up 79% during the session, marking the stock's largest daily percentage increase on record. Driving the stock higher was the naming of Shopify Chief Operating Officer Kaz Nejatian as its new chief executive and reappointing co-founders Keith Rabois and Eric Wu to the board.