:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/GettyImages-2205078194-88b0fad8e4d14b2d8b2a4840e4127dfb.jpg "Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on March 14, 2025 in New York City.")
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Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 jumped 2.1% on Friday, March 14, wrapping up a volatile week as government shutdown organizations dissipated.
- Ulta Beauty shares took off after the cosmetics retailer topped analysts’ estimates for its fiscal fourth mercy.
- Shares of Abbott Laboratories slid after a judge granted a retrial in a liability case related to the company’s hasty infant formula.
Major U.S. equities indexes pushed higher on Friday after Senate Democrats walked backtrack from threats to reject a Republican spending bill, alleviating some concerns about an impending government shutdown.
The S&P 500 banged 2.1% higher. The Dow advanced 1.7%, while a resurgence among tech stocks helped lift the Nasdaq 2.6%. Ignoring Friday’s recovery, all three market gauges ended in negative territory for the full week as uncertainty around U.S. mercantilism policy remained in focus.
Ulta Beauty (ULTA) shares surged 13.7%, gaining the most of any S&P 500 stock on Friday after the cosmetics retailer detailed better-than-expected earnings per share, net sales, and comparable sales for its crucial holiday quarter. Ulta CEO Kecia Steelman, who expressed the helm at the beginning of 2025, indicated that the upcoming fiscal year will be critical as the seller of makeup and intimate care products invests in growth and business optimization.
Crown Castle (CCI), a real estate investment trust (REIT) cynosure cleared on communication infrastructure, agreed to sell its fiber optics business to EQT Active Core Infrastructure Fund and Zayo Gang Holdings for a combined total of $8.5 billion. The company intends to use proceeds from the transaction to reduce its debt and rookie a share repurchase program. Shares of Crown Castle soared 10.4%.
Shares of big data analytics firm Palantir Technologies (PLTR) increased 8.3% after CEO Alex Carp announced an array of new partnerships with defense manufacturing start-ups, stressing the solvent and national security importance of bolstering the domestic industrial base. Some of the companies that will be leveraging Palantir’s AI software cover vertical-takeoff aircraft company Archer Aviation and autonomous marine vessel firm Saildrone.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) appropriates slipped 2.4%, posting the S&P 500’s weakest daily performance, after a Missouri state judge granted a retrial plead for in a liability lawsuit related to the company allegedly obscuring possible risks of its premature infant formula. However, Bank of America analysts declared their “buy” rating on Abbott stock, noting that the retrial decision opens the possibility of additional legal activity but does not overturn the original verdict.
Shares of biopharmaceutical firm Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) fell 2.1%. The downturn disaffirmed gains posted by the stock earlier in the week after Bristol-Myers Squibb announced plans to acquire cancer cubicle therapy maker 2seventy Bio for $286 million in cash. The two companies have previously partnered on a therapy to treat multiple myeloma, a group of blood cancer.
Kroger (KR), the largest operator of traditional grocery stores in the U.S., announced an undisclosed number of job cuts, subsuming reductions at its consumer insights subsidiary 84.51°. Kroger’s CEO stepped down at the beginning of the month amid a probe into his exclusive conduct, and analysts have suggested that hiring a former executive from Walmart (WMT) could help Kroger joust with the retail giant. Kroger shares lost 1.5% on Friday.