Brodsky & Smith Shareholder Update: Notifying Investors Of The Following Investigations: Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq - Wba), Global Blue Group Holding Ag (Nasdaq - Gb), Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. (Nasdaq - Plya), Triumph Group, Inc. (Nyse - Tgi

Health care stocks advanced late Friday afternoon with the NYSE Health Care Index up 0.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) adding 0.2%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 0.9%.

In sector news, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to conduct a large study into the potential relationship between vaccines and autism, Reuters reported.

In corporate news, Oruka Therapeutics shares rose 4.3% after the company said preclinical data on its monoclonal antibody ORKA-002 support potential extended dosing intervals and show equivalent potency to bimekizumab in plaque psoriasis.

Walgreens Boots Alliance jumped 7.4% after the drugstore chain agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Sycamore Partners in a deal worth up to $23.7 billion.

Molina Healthcare and Molina Healthcare of Texas agreed to a $40 million settlement with Texas following a Medicaid fraud investigation. Molina shares rose 1.4%.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals said Thursday that its Journavx non-opioid pain killer was added by UnitedHealth Group's (UNH) drug plan unit Optum Rx to its formulary. Vertex shares increased 0.7%.

US benchmark equity indexes were higher intraday as traders assessed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's latest comments and the official jobs report for February.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.4% at 42,733.2 after midday Friday, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.3% each to 5,755.1 and 18,116.2, respectively. Among sectors, utilities and energy paced the gainers, while financials saw the biggest drop.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee would want "greater clarity" around the Trump administration's policy changes before making their next move on interest rates, Powell said.

"As we parse the incoming information (about policy changes), we are focused on separating the signal from the noise as the outlook evolves," Powell said. "Despite elevated levels of uncertainty, the US economy continues to be in a good place."

The Trump administration could impose matching tariffs on Canadian lumber and dairy products as early as Friday to match Canada's current tariffs on US goods, Bloomberg News reported, citing US President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, the White House issued temporary tariff exemptions for Canadian and Mexican goods that comply with a North American trade pact, media outlets reported. The US administration recently doubled its levy on Chinese imports. Canada and China have announced retaliatory measures.

US Treasury yields were higher intraday Friday, with the two-year rate moving up 3.9 basis points to 4% and the 10-year rate gaining 3.1 basis points to 4.31%.

In economic news, nonfarm payrolls in the US rose by 151,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The consensus was for a 160,000 increase, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate increased to 4.1% from January's 4%, which was the market view for February.

"Job growth is likely to soften over the coming months, as federal layoffs related to (the Department of Government Efficiency) continue to mount and ongoing trade policy uncertainty helps to weigh on near-term hiring intentions," TD Economics said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.9% at $67 a barrel intraday.

In company news, Broadcom shares jumped 8.5%, the best performer on the S&P 500. The chipmaker late Thursday provided an upbeat outlook for its fiscal second-quarter revenue after delivering a first-quarter beat.

Walgreens Boots Alliance followed Broadcom on the S&P 500, up 7.6% intraday Friday. Late Thursday, the drugstore chain agreed to be acquired and taken private by an affiliate of Sycamore Partners in a deal worth up to $23.7 billion.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise shares plunged nearly 15% intraday Friday, the worst performer on the S&P 500. The company late Thursday issued a downbeat full-year earnings outlook and announced plans to cut jobs.

Gold fell 0.4% to $2,916.80 per troy ounce, while silver lost 1.5% to $32.84 per ounce.

Health care stocks were rising Friday afternoon, with the NYSE Health Care Index adding 0.3% and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) up 0.4%.

The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 1.1%.

In sector news, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to conduct a large study into the potential relationship between vaccines and autism, Reuters reported.

In corporate news, Walgreens Boots Alliance jumped past 7% after the drugstore chain agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of Sycamore Partners in a deal worth up to $23.7 billion.

Molina Healthcare and Molina Healthcare of Texas have agreed to a $40 million settlement with Texas following a Medicaid fraud investigation. Molina shares rose 2.4%.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals shares added 1%. The firm said Thursday that its Journavx non-opioid pain killer has been added by UnitedHealth Group's (UNH) drug plan unit Optum Rx to its formulary.

All three major US stock indexes were down in late-morning trading on Friday, as a weaker-than-expected jobs report and ongoing tariff uncertainty rattled investors.

The February employment reported showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 151,000, below the 160,000 jobs increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:10 a.m. ET, while January payrolls saw a downward revision to a 125,000 increase and December payrolls were revised up to a 323,000 increase, for a net downward revision of 2,000 jobs. The unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in February from 4.0% in January, compared with no change expected, while the labor force participation rate declined to 62.4% from 62.6% in the previous month, and the size of the labor force contracted.

In company news, Broadcom reported fiscal Q1 non-GAAP earnings late Thursday of $1.60 per diluted share, up from $1.10 a year earlier and above the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by FactSet calling for $1.51. Fiscal Q1 revenue was $14.92 billion, up from $11.96 billion a year earlier and above the FactSet consensus estimate of $14.62 billion. The company expects fiscal Q2 revenue of about $14.9 billion, above the FactSet consensus estimate of $14.71 billion. Broadcom shares were up 3.0% around midday.

Nasdaq's Nasdaq 100 Index fell 0.7% Friday and is now down over 10% from its February record — the threshold representing a technical correction, Bloomberg reported. Separately, Nasdaq has been engaging with regulators, market participants and other stakeholders about enabling 24-hour trading five days per week on the Nasdaq Stock Market, President Tal Cohen said Friday in a post on LinkedIn. Nasdaq shares were down 3.2%.

Walgreens Boots Alliance said it reached a definitive agreement late Thursday to be acquired by an entity affiliated with Sycamore Partners for up to $23.7 billion. Walgreens shares were up 7%.

Costco Wholesale reported fiscal Q2 net income late Thursday of $4.02 per diluted share, up from $3.92 a year earlier but below the FactSet consensus estimate of $4.11. Fiscal Q2 total revenue was $63.72 billion, up from $58.44 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet consensus of $63.11 billion. Costco shares were down 7.0%.

Artificial intelligence researchers at Microsoft believe they have achieved a notable milestone in the company's effort to reduce its dependence on OpenAI's technology for most of its AI products, The Information reported Friday, citing someone involved in the effort. Microsoft shares were down 2.5%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise reported Q1 non-GAAP net income late Thursday of $0.49 per diluted share, up from $0.48 a year earlier but below the FactSet consensus of $0.50. First-quarter revenue was $7.85 billion, up from $6.76 billion in the year-ago period and above the FactSet consensus of $7.81 billion. For Q2, the company projects non-GAAP EPS of $0.28 to $0.34 on revenue between $7.2 billion and $7.6 billion. Analysts expect $0.50 and $7.92 billion, respectively. For fiscal 2025, the company expects non-GAAP EPS of $1.70 to $1.90, with revenue growing 7% to 11%. Analysts expect $2.13 per share. Hewlett Packard also plans to reduce its workforce by 5%, or about 2,500 employees, over the next 12 to 18 months, the company said during its earnings call. Hewlett Packard shares were down 16.7%.