Stock Market Today: Stocks End Wild Week With a Win
Palantir Technologies and Sweetgreen were two notable gainers Friday, while Intel continued to fall.


Stocks notched back-to-back wins Friday, with today's upside enough to pare most of the main indexes' weekly deficits incurred from Monday's market meltdown.
Amid a bare economic calendar, single-stock headlines swayed sentiment. Palantir Technologies (PLTR), for instance, continued its impressive climb after Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives called the data analytics firm's new partnership with Microsoft (MSFT, +0.8%) "game-changing." PLTR stock rose 2.5%, bringing its weekly gain to 21%.
Sweetgreen soars on strong earnings
Sweetgreen (SG) was another stock making waves Friday, surging 33.4% after earnings. The fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in salads said second-quarter revenue jumped 21% year-over-year to $184.5 million while its quarterly loss narrowed to $14.5 million. The company also raised its full-year revenue and same-store sales guidance.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"We're particularly encouraged by positive traffic as initiatives across menu innovation and marketing accelerated trends through Q2 despite industry pressures," says UBS Global Research analyst Dennis Geiger, who maintained a Buy rating on the consumer discretionary stock but raised his price target to $37 from $31. For reference, SG closed today at $35.01.
Intel sinks after Moody's lowers credit outlook
Intel (INTC) plunged after Moody's lowered the chipmaker's unsecured ratings outlook to negative from stable. The firm also downgraded INTC's senior unsecured rating to BAA1 from A3. "The downgrade of the ratings reflects our expectations for Intel's significantly weaker profitability over the next 12 to 18 months," Moody's explained.
Today's 3.8% drop made Intel the worst Dow Jones stock on Friday, though this is nothing new for INTC. Indeed, shares are down more than 35% for the month to date thanks to the company's ugly Q2 earnings report, which included news it has suspended its dividend to cut costs.
"We believe Intel faces a long road to recovery," wrote Argus Research analyst Jim Kelleher (Hold) in a post-earnings note. "As it seeks to maintain its aggressive node and product roadmap in client and data center, Intel likely faces an extended period of low- to no-profit quarters even on the planned reduced cost base."
As for the main indexes, the S&P 500 closed Friday up 0.5% at 5,344, the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5% higher at 16,745, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1% to 39,497. All three indexes finished with modest weekly losses.
Inflation data, blue chip earnings on deck
Looking ahead, next week has the potential to be another volatile one for stocks. Indeed, the highly anticipated July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report will be released Wednesday morning and Wall Street will be watching to see if the recent trend lower in inflation will continue.
"The July CPI report is likely to further the case that inflation is quieting down even if it has not yet returned all the way back to the Fed's target," says Wells Fargo senior economist Sarah House. "We look for headline CPI to have advanced 0.2% in July, which would keep the year-over-year rate steady at more than a three-year low of 3.0%." She expects core CPI to also be up 0.2% month-over-month "amid a rebound in some of the more volatile 'super core' components."
Meanwhile, several blue chips will be featured on the earnings calendar, including Cisco Systems (CSCO, -0.8%). The networking equipment maker made news today amid rumors it is planning another round of layoffs. As for its fiscal Q4 results, Wall Street is expecting more top- and bottom-line weakness.
"The networking market continues to be depressed with the remnants of the supply chain boom and bust still playing out in the calendar year's Q2, the telecom winter persisting, and now the economic backdrop showing slowing signs due to the restrictive Fed policies," says Needham analyst Alex Henderson (Hold).
Related content
- The Fed Is About to Cut Rates. What Should Investors Do?
- The 1031 Exchange Rules You Need to Know
- Kiplinger's Economic Calendar for This Week
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
I’m Over 65 and Itemize: Can I Claim the New $6,000 ‘Senior Bonus’ Tax Deduction?
Tax Changes If you’re an older adult, a new bonus deduction could provide a valuable tax benefit.
-
Alphabet Stock Pops After Google Antitrust Ruling: What to Know
GOOGL stock is soaring Wednesday after a judge ruled that Alphabet does not have to divest its Chrome browser.
-
Alphabet Stock Pops After Google Antitrust Ruling: What to Know
GOOGL stock is soaring Wednesday after a judge ruled that Alphabet does not have to divest its Chrome browser.
-
7 Mistakes to Avoid When You First Start Investing
Investing brings the opportunity to build wealth, but there are plenty of mistakes that can be made. Here are seven common ones and how they can be avoided.
-
A Fidelity Fund Misses Out on Soaring Bank Stocks
The Fidelity International Growth Fund has outperformed over the long term, but its lagging exposure to bank stocks has weighed on more recent returns.
-
More Than Money: The Hidden Toll of Financial Abuse of Older Adults
Financial abuse from schemes involving tech support, government impostors, false sweepstakes, grandchild hoaxes and online shopping issues can cause thousands of dollars in losses.
-
I'm a Financial Planner: Here Are Three High-Impact Ways to Make a Difference With Your Dollars
The world often feels out of control, but here are three ways to use your money — through investments, charitable giving and political donations — to help create a more just and sustainable future.
-
Stocks Slide to Start September: Stock Market Today
Seasonal trends suggest tough times for the stock market as we round into the end of the third quarter.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Sherwin-Williams Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Sherwin-Williams stock has clobbered the broader market by a wide margin for a long time.
-
Where is the Foreign Dividend Boom Headed?
It's been a golden six months for foreign dividend stocks, but can any be relied on for predictable income going forward? Here are some options.