Stock market today: Live updates

Consumer sentiment deteriorated in the first half of August as inflation concerns increased, the University of Michigan reported Friday.

The school’s closely watched survey of consumers posted a reading of 58.6, down 5% from July for the first decrease in four months and below the Dow Jones consensus outlook for 62.5. The current conditions measure tumbled 10.4%, though the expectations number was off just 0.9%.

On inflation, views at both the one- and five-year horizons rose half a percentage point, respectively to 4.9% and 3.9%.

“Overall, consumers are no longer bracing for the worst-case scenario for the economy feared in April when reciprocal tariffs were announced and then paused,” survey director Joanne Hsu said in a statement. “However, consumers continue to expect both inflation and unemployment to deteriorate in the future.”

— Jeff Cox

Check out the companies making headlines before the bell.

• Target — The retailer fell almost 2% after Bank of America downgraded Target to underperform from neutral and trimmed its price target on the stock. Target’s long-term outlook is deteriorating as the company falls further behind its peers, the bank said. Ulta Beauty and Target also agreed to end their partnership.
• UnitedHealth — The health insurer rallied 11% premarket. The advance came after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed a stake of five million shares, worth about $1.6 billion. The “Big Short” investor Michael Burry and Appaloosa Management’s David Tepper also disclosed sizable stakes in the company. If the UNH gains hold through the end of the session, it will mark the stock’s best day in five years.
• Applied Materials — The semiconductor equipment manufacturer plunged roughly 14% after the company’s current-quarter outlook trailed estimates from analysts polled by LSEG. Applied Materials’ fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue topped Wall Street expectations.

For the full list, read here.

— Pia Singh

Consumers kept spending in July despite worries that potentially higher prices from tariffs might hold down demand.

Retail sales increased 0.5% for the month, according to Commerce Department data that is adjusted for seasonal factors but not inflation. Excluding auto-related items, sales rose 0.3%. Both were exactly in line with Dow Jones estimates.

Motor vehicle and parts sales jumped 1.6% on the month while furniture and home furnishings receipts grew 1.4%. Miscellaneous retailers saw a drop of 1.7% while building materials and home and garden centers fell 1%.

On a year-over-year basis, sales increased 3.9%.

In other economic news, import prices increased 0.4%, pushed higher by energy prices, while export prices were up 0.1%. The consensus forecast was for import prices to be flat.

Also, the Empire State Manufacturing Index posted a reading of 11.9, much higher than the 1.8 estimate. New orders posted a strong gain while prices edged lower as did the employment index.

— Jeff Cox

UnitedHealth is set to add about 209 points to the Dow at Friday’s open. The Dow is price-weighted rather than market capitalization-weighted, so a stock’s impact comes from its share price rather than its market value.

Shares of UnitedHealth have climbed nearly 55 points this week and have contributed more than 330 points to the Dow, giving the index its largest week-to-date boost to the upside, all else equal.

— Nick Wells Lisa Kailai Han

If history is any indication, the dollar could wane from here, Bank of America wrote in a Thursday note.

“If Fed cuts were to occur in 2025, they would likely take place amid a backdrop of rising year-over-year (YoY) inflation. This is a possible but historically rare regime. The last time it has happened was from H2 ’07 to H1 ’08,” the bank said. “Fed rate cuts amid rising YoY inflation suppresses real policy rate for the U.S. and leads to a weaker USD, in-line with the 2007 historical analog.”

Bank of America continued: “Under this regime, the USD depreciation had been sharper prior to the Fed cut, and the USD bearishness would linger in the subsequent 3 months after the rate cut.”

— Lisa Kailai Han

We’re coming up to 20 minutes of trading, and European bourses are broadly higher.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was last seen up 0.3%, with all major bourses in positive territory.

Circle Internet Group said Thursday that it priced its 10 million share offering at $130 per share. The stablecoin issuer announced the offering on Tuesday after it reported its first quarterly earnings as a publicly traded company.

Circle said it is selling 2 million shares, while the remaining 8 million shares will be sold by stockholders.

The offering has put pressure on the stock, which has fallen more than 12% so far this week. But the company’s gains have been robust since its June 5 initial public offering. Even with this latest pull back, shares are up almost 350% since the stock’s debut.

—Christina Cheddar Berk

These are some of the stocks making notable moves in extended trading:

• Applied Materials — The semiconductor equipment manufacturer tumbled 11% after the current-quarter outlook missed expectations of analysts polled by LSEG. Fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue topped estimates.
• UnitedHealth — The insurer jumped nearly 8% after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Michael Burry’s Scion Asset Management revealed stakes.
• Intel — The chipmaker climbed nearly 4% postmarket, adding to a 7% gain during Thursday’s regular session. Intel jumped after Bloomberg reported that the Trump administration is in talks to buy a stake in the company, which would help it to bolster its manufacturing capacity in the U.S.

Click here for the full list.

— Alex Harring

S&P 500 futures were little changed shortly after 6 p.m. ET. Dow futures rose 0.3%, while Nasdaq 100 futures ticked down 0.2%.

— Alex Harring