U.S. stocks traded higher this morning, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining around 1.5% on Friday.

Following the market opening Friday, the Dow traded up 0.31% to 40,939.35 while the NASDAQ climbed 1.50% to 17,562.15. The S&P 500 also rose, gaining, 0.95% to 5,573.84.

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Leading and Lagging SectorsInformation technology shares gained by 1.9% on Friday.

In trading on Friday, consumer staples shares dipped by 0.5%.

Top Headline

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) reported stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results on Thursday.

Ulta Beauty said it expects fiscal year 2025 revenue of $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion versus estimates of $11.67 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company anticipates full-year earnings of $22.50 to $22.90 per share versus estimates of $23.50 per share.

Equities Trading UP                       

• Bon Natural Life Limited (NASDAQ:BON) shares shot up 145% to $1.80.
• Shares of Radius Recycling, Inc. (NASDAQ:RDUS)got a boost, surging 104% to $27.91 after the company disclosed a merger deal with Toyota Tsusho America, Inc. for $30.00 per share in cash
• SUNation Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:SUNE) shares were also up, gaining 47% to $0.4701 after the company announced it has repaid in full and retired senior and junior secured debt.

Equities Trading DOWN

• Xponential Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:XPOF) shares dropped 35% to $7.85 after the company announced fourth-quarter results.
• Shares of Newegg Commerce, Inc. (NASDAQ:NEGG) were down 35% to $0.2499 after the company announced a 1-for-20 reverse stock split.
• Sutro Biopharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:STRO) was down, falling 29% to $0.8825 following FY 2024 results. B of A Securities downgraded the stock from Buy to Underperform and cut its price target from $11 to $1.

CommoditiesIn commodity news, oil traded up 0.9% to $67.16 while gold traded up 0.6% at $3,009.80.

Silver traded up 1.4% to $34.785 on Friday, while copper rose 0.2% to $4.9350.

Euro zone

European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.9%, Germany's DAX 40 jumped 2% and France's CAC 40 gained 1.3%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 1.2%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.8%.

Asia Pacific Markets

Asian markets closed higher on Friday, with Japan's Nikkei gaining 0.72%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gaining 1.81% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surging 2.12%.

Economics

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment will be released today.

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