US Stocks Begin Third Quarter Higher Following Worst First Half in Decades

US equity benchmarks were higher in the first session of the third quarter following Thursday's slump that ended the worst first half seen in decades.

Government bond yields continued on a downward trajectory Friday as a closely monitored manufacturing gauge fell to its lowest level in two years in June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% to 31,097.26, the S&P 500 was also up by 1.1% to 3,825.33, and the Nasdaq Composite was nearly 1% higher at 11,127.85. For the week, the Dow was 1.3% lower, the S&P 500 dropped 2.2%, and the Nasdaq slumped 4%.

The utilities led the gainers, with all sectors in the green.

The US 10-year yield dropped 8.5 basis points to 2.89%.

West Texas Intermediate futures, however, jumped 2.5% to $108.41 amid ongoing supply disruptions in Libya and Norway.

The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 53 from 56.1 in May, compared with expectations of 54.5 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. ISM said Friday the headline reading, while still in expansionary territory, is the weakest since June 2020, when the world was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US 10-year yield dropped 6.8 basis points to 2.91%. It has been on a downtrend since the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 75 basis points in June, the most in almost three decades, amid concern that further projected rate hikes in the Fed pipeline are likely to tip the economy into a recession.

The National Association of Home Builders said that US mortgage lenders, refinancing companies, and real estate brokers could lay off thousands of employees in the coming months, a research note from D.A. Davidson said Friday. The job cuts would come about amid a cooling of the housing market, economic uncertainty stemming from the Russia-Ukraine war, and relatively higher mortgage rates as the Fed tightens policy.

In company news, Micron Technology MU guided fiscal fourth-quarter sales and earnings below Wall Street estimates because of weakness in the personal computer and smartphone industries. Shares dropped 3%.

Kohl's KSS terminated negotiations over a potential sale to Franchise Group FFRG, which owns the Vitamin Shoppe chain, amid deteriorating market conditions as the retailer lowered its sales outlook for the fiscal second quarter. Shares sank 19.6%.

Gold was slightly higher at $1,808.10 per troy ounce, while silver was down 2.7% to $19.81 per ounce.