The broad market traded higher at noon on Friday, with all three major indexes showing good gains for the day. Volume was higher than average, advancers outnumbered decliners and new highs outpaced new lows. The morning’s upbeat jobs report indicates that hiring is picking up, leading some to expect wage increases to moderate and further tamp down inflation fears. Crude oil dipped below $80 a barrel in the wee hours Friday but jumped to around $81.25 by noon. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes tumbled by nearly 12 basis points to around 1.46%.
Among meme stocks, Airbnb Inc. (NASDAQ: ABNB) was trading up by double digits, following a strong earnings report before the opening bell. The better news is that Airbnb expects strong demand to continue into next year, based on the number of advance bookings it has seen so far.
Another of the day’s winners was Lucid Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID). The company had no specific news, but the shares continue to rise following last weekend’s first deliveries to paying customers. Over the past two weeks, the shares are up more than 50%.
Digital asset platform Bakkt Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BKKT) also posted a nice gain. The company announced in the morning that it will soon offer customers a way to buy, sell, hold and spend ether. The company currently offers these services for Bitcoin. Institutional customers also can use the platform for custody of ether.
Among the day’s worst performers was electric vehicle maker Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ: WKHS). The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the electric van maker. The focus of the inquiry, which is being conducted out of the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, is not known. EV semi truck maker Nikola has said it is about to settle a Justice Department investigation, including paying a fine of $125 million. Lordstown Motors is the third EV startup to be a Justice Department target this year, and that investigation continues.
Airbnb traded up about 13% to $201.43 as the noon hour drew to a close Friday. The stock’s 52-week range is $121.50 to $219.94. The average daily trading volume is about 5.4 million shares, and about 20.5 million had traded thus far on the day.
Lucid stock traded up about 6.7%, at $39.60 in a 52-week range of $9.66 to $40.40. Nearly 70 million shares had traded thus far. The daily average is around 41 million.
Shares of Bakkt were up about 4.4% to $33.77, in a 52-week range of $8.00 to $50.80. Volume was muted, with about 6.4 million shares having been traded, compared to a daily average of around 40 million.
Workhorse traded down more than 8.3%, at $6.61 in a 52-week range of $6.02 to $42.96. The average daily trading volume is about 8.4 million shares, and 16.3 million had changed hands.
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