Stocks fell fell on Friday after a stronger-than-expected payrolls report quelled speculation that Federal Reserve officials might cut interest rates at their next meeting later this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.98%) and the S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.46%) each pulled back modestly from record highs, as outsize gains from the retail, financial, and oil sectors were more than offset by declines from industrial and consumer staples names.
Today's stock market
| Index | Percentage Change | Point Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow | (0.16%) | (43.88) |
| S&P 500 | (0.18%) | (5.41) |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
As for individual stocks, NVIDIA (NVDA 3.71%) fell after a competitor turned up the heat, while Nike (NKE -0.74%) moved higher ahead of this weekend's FIFA Women's World Cup soccer final.
Image source: Getty Images.
New pricing pressure for NVIDIA?
Shares of graphics chip leader NVIDIA slumped 1.6% in the wake of reports that industry rival AMD (AMD 1.33%) is readying last-minute price drops for two of its newest 7-nanometer Navi-series GPUs.
According to sources speaking with the well-known (and aptly named) GPU site VideoCardz.com, AMD has decided to reduce the planned pricing of its new Radeon RX 5700 and 5700XT graphics cards by $30 and $50, respectively, to $399 and $349. The cards are set to launch this Sunday, and are designed to directly compete with NVIDIA's $349 RTX 2060 and $399 RTX Super GPUs.
AMD's move could serve to ramp up an already intense pricing battle with NVIDIA, in which both companies sacrifice margins in an effort to take market share. Considering NVIDIA is already striving to bolster unpredictable demand from some of its key markets, it's no surprise to see the stock pulled back today.
The World Cup could be a win for Nike
Meanwhile, shares of Nike climbed 0.7% as investors bet the athletic footwear and sportswear giant will be a primary beneficiary of this weekend's FIFA Women's World Cup final match between the United States and the Netherlands.
The move shouldn't be entirely surprising. Considering Nike had deals to outfit 14 of the 24 teams entering the tournament, Susquehanna analyst Sam Poser mused in March that the event would be a "great venue to showcase the Nike brand."
Sure enough, after 7.4 million viewers watched the U.S. defeat England 2-1 in a semifinal match on Fox Sports on Tuesday, paving the way for their advance to Sunday's final, Nike confirmed the U.S. women's national soccer team's $90 jersey became the best-selling soccer jersey ever on Nike.com for a single season.
Regardless of whether the United States pulls off another victory on Sunday, it seems likely Nike will win in the process.
