A rough week for stocks still couldn't keep the major tech names down, as investors pushed megacap stocks higher in anticipation of a packed earnings schedule next week.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) put on about 0.6% and finished near a record high at the closing bell on Friday, managing the only weekly win among the major gauges.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped under the flat line Friday after the benchmark snapped a three-day losing streak. And the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) shed 0.6%. Both the S&P and the Dow posted weekly losses amid fresh questions over the Fed's next interest rate policy decision.

The benchmark 10-year yield (^TNX) rose to around 4.23%, hitting just below a three-month high it set earlier in the week.

Companies are in the dark about how exactly antitrust enforcement would shift under a new administration, upending merger plans until a 2024 outcome is certain, reports Yahoo Finance's Alexis Keenan.

One big deal that hangs in the balance during this political season is the union of credit card lenders Capital One (COF) and Discover (DFS). Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank told analysts Thursday that he expects to complete the tie-up "early in 2025 subject to regulatory and shareholder" approvals.

The problem for any business considering M&A activity at the moment is that little has been said on the campaign trail by either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump about how they would mold the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, the agencies that police US competition laws.

What’s more, changes to the agencies’ antitrust guidelines and public sentiment could mean the tea leaves won’t be easy to read no matter who wins the White House.

Read more about the impact the close presidential election is having on corporate mergers.

Despite widespread optimism over Apple's (AAPL) AI technology play, the iPhone maker is still drawing criticism from some skeptical analysts.

KeyBanc lowered its rating on Apple stock Friday from Sector Weight to Underweight.

Analyst Brandon Nispel said Apple customers' upgrades to the iPhone 16 and iPhone sales will grow slower than expected. Nispel pointed to KeyBanc's recent, first-ever consumer iPhone survey, which he said shows that Apple's cheaper iPhone SE sales could take away from would-be iPhone 16 upgrades.

Wall Street analysts have disagreed over whether Apple's iPhone 16 launch was successful in anticipation of Apple's quarterly earnings report on Oct. 31, when the company will release official iPhone sales data. Apple is rolling out part of its suite of AI features, called Apple Intelligence, on Oct. 28.

Analysts expect Apple's earnings per share to rise 7.5% to $1.57 and its revenue to jump 5.3% to $94.2 billion. Of the Wall Street analysts covering the stock, only three have an Underweight rating, while 65% recommend buying the stock, according to Bloomberg data. On average, analysts see shares rising to $245 over the next 12 months.

But Nispel said, "With Apple trading at a large premium to history, vs. peers, and the broader market, we think the stock is likely to underperform and needs to significantly beat expectations to move higher, which we don't expect."

While Citi analyst Atif Malik maintains a Buy rating on Apple stock, he noted on Friday, "We expect [the] stock to be volatile as a prolonged Apple Intelligence software release likely impacts typical iPhone sales seasonality this year."

The autonomous driving startup Waymo announced the closing of a $5.6 billion funding round on Friday, led by Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), in a bid to expand its driverless ride-hailing service.

"With this latest investment, we will continue to welcome more riders into our Waymo One ride-hailing service in San Francisco, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, and in Austin and Atlanta through our expanded partnership with Uber," the company said in a blog post.

This year, the company said it expanded its Waymo One driverless service in areas in in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix. And next year, Waymo said it will begin to serve riders in Austin and Atlanta.

The additional funding comes as Tesla (TSLA), a potential rival, expects to launch its own robotaxi service next year. CEO Elon Musk has positioned the company's autonomous efforts as a major advancement and a way to take the electric vehicle maker beyond vehicle sales.

Waymo also said it is broadening its testing with more complex environments through road trips to cities including Buffalo, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during afternoon trading on Friday:

New York Community Bancorp (NYCB): Shares of the regional lender fell 8% Friday afternoon after posting higher loan loss provisions and loan write-offs in the third quarter than Wall Street expected. It also reported its fourth consecutive quarterly loss, of $280 million in Q3, and delayed its goal of turning profitable by a year to 2026. The disappointing results offered a fresh reminder that commercial real estate problems are not totally in the rear-view mirror of US banks.

Deckers Outdoor (DECK): The footwear company surged more than 10% Friday afternoon after reporting earnings that beat expectations and raising its annual sales forecast. Among the standout results was a greater than 35% rise in Hoka sales and a 13% gain in sales of the UGG brand.

Capri (CPRI): Shares of the fashion company cratered after a judge blocked the parent of Michael Kors from merging with Coach owner Tapestry (TPR). Tapestry, meanwhile, jumped more than 15% following the decision, which said the merging parties are close competitors and that a merger would lead to lead to less competition in the "accessible luxury" handbag market.

Colgate-Palmolive (CL): The consumer products company slid more than 3% Friday afternoon despite beating third quarter earnings expectations and raising its guidance. The company reported volume and pricing weakness in North America, which makes up about 20% of its sales.

For a moment the AI darling Nvidia (NVDA) was at the top of the world, overtaking Apple (AAPL) as the most valuable company, driven by intense demand for its next-generation chips.

During late-morning trading on Friday, Nvidia's market cap reached $3.53 billion, surpassing Apple's $3.52 trillion. The position shift highlighted Nvidia's trailblazing run, as its AI chips are at the center of a transformational moment in technology.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said there is “insane” demand for its AI chips, which are used in data centers by Big Tech companies to power generative artificial intelligence software.

Nvidia previously passed Apple's market cap in June but was, in turn, beaten out by Apple and Microsoft (MSFT), with the tech companies staying in close competition.

During Friday afternoon trading, Apple reclaimed the No. 1 position with a market cap of $3.54 trillion versus Nvidia's $3.52 trillion.

The AI chip market is expected to grow 99% in 2024 and another 74% in 2025, according to consulting firm International Business Strategies, which tracks industry data.

Some 67 analysts have Outperform ratings on Nvidia stock, while seven maintain a Hold rating, and only one recommends selling shares.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) is on track to set a new closing record Friday even as uncertainty over the Fed's next move hands over a robust earnings season.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.5% after the benchmark snapped a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped into the red, shedding 0.2%, while the Nasdaq put on 1.3%.

Both the S&P and the Dow are on course to record losing weeks.

The benchmark 10-year yield (^TNX) rose to around 4.21% on Friday afternoon, easing back from a three-month high above 4.25% hit midweek.

The world's richest man added donations totaling $43.6 million to his super-PAC in early October, according to new campaign finance documents, while disclosing another $10 million to help GOP Senate candidates, reports Yahoo Finance's Ben Werschkul.

His total known spending this year now nears $130 million.

The final campaign finance filings available before Election Day also solidified another trend that has defined the 2024 money race: a Kamala Harris campaign that continues to far outpace Donald Trump's organization among smaller donors.

Her campaign reported a windfall of $97 million in the first half of October, compared to Trump's campaign's $16 million.

It sets up a key contrast for the last 11 days of the 2024 campaign, with the formal operation behind Harris showing a clear advantage but with Trump looking to make up much of the difference with his array of billionaire allies.

Musk is now, according to the latest public data, the second-most-generous GOP donor this cycle and will remain central to Trump's election efforts in the run-up to Nov. 5.

Read more about Musk's campaign efforts and spending here.

US consumers are feeling better about the economy following the Federal Reserve's major interest rate cut and heading into the final days of the presidential election.

Consumer sentiment lifted for the third straight month, registering its highest reading since April, according to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers.

"This month’s increase was primarily due to modest improvements in buying conditions for durables, in part due to easing interest rates," said Joanne Hsu, director of consumer surveys.

The Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 70.5 in the October 2024 survey released Friday, up from 70.1 in September and above last October’s 63.8.

Consumers’ views of labor markets became more favorable in October, Hsu said. And the share of consumers who, when not prompted, mentioned the the negative effect of high interest rates or tight credit on buying conditions for large purchases fell in October, according to the report.

Concerns over high interest rates for durable goods fell to their lowest levels in two years, the report said, suggesting a fresh willingness to purchase those goods in the near term.

Here are some of the stocks leading Yahoo Finance’s trending tickers page during morning trading on Friday:

Deckers Outdoor (DECK): The footwear company surged more than 12% Friday morning after reporting earnings that beat expectations and raising its annual sales forecast. Among the standout results was a greater than 35% rise in Hoka sales and a 13% gain in sales of the UGG brand.

Capri (CPRI): Shares of the fashion company cratered after a judge blocked the parent of Michael Kors from being acquired by Coach owner Tapestry (TPR). Tapestry, meanwhile, jumped more than 15% following the decision, which said that the merging parties are close competitors and whose merger would lead to less competition in the "accessible luxury" handbag market.

Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH): The government and military contractor gained 13% after reporting second quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations and rose 18% compared to the same period last year. While other consulting firms have struggled as the advancements of AI technology may challenge the business model, Booz Allen raised its fiscal 2025 outlook and projected revenue growth as high as 13%.

Capital One Financial (COF): Shares of the bank increased 9% Friday morning after reporting earnings that beat expectations on strong results from the credit card and auto-lending businesses. Capital One is also seeking to acquire Discover in a $35 billion deal but the transaction is facing regulatory scrutiny.

What seems clearer after Tesla’s latest earnings report is that, for now, it is primarily a car company, writes Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman. And the more successful a car company is, the more runway investors will give it to transform.

The numbers help tell the story: Tesla’s automotive revenue was $20.02 billion last quarter, a full 79% of the total. Auto services accounted for 11%, and energy generation and storage about 9%.

It was profitability that really encouraged investors last quarter, coming in at 17.1% for the auto segment, ex-regulatory credits. That helped send Tesla's stock soaring 22% for its biggest single-day gain since May 2013, together with Musk’s predictions that deliveries will rise this year and growth will be “something like 20% to 30%” next year.

It also sent Tesla shares back into the green for the year, after what’s been a bumpy road. In the two weeks since the company’s robotaxi event, the stock had slumped by 11%.

Read more about Tesla's profitability improvement and the focus on cutting the cost to make vehicles.

US stocks rose on Friday morning as Treasury yields tipped lower and as uncertainty over the Fed's next move shadowed an earnings season in full swing.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose roughly 0.5% after the benchmark snapped a three-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) added 0.4%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained around 0.6%.

Stocks are reviving somewhat as a pullback in US bond yields lifted some recent pressure on risk appetite. The benchmark 10-year yield (^TNX) slipped to around 4.18%, easing back from a three-month high above 4.25% hit midweek.

The S&P and the Dow are on track to record losses for the week.

Economic data: Durable goods orders (September preliminary); University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment, (October); Kansas City Fed Services Activity (October).

Earnings: New York Community Bancorp (NYCB), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), Aon (AON), WisdomTree (WT), Piper Sandler (PIPR), Centene Corporation (CNC), Newell Brands (NWL).

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

Tesla is still a car company — and for now, that's OK

Capri stock craters after $8.5 billion Tapestry deal blocked

Mercedes-Benz to step up cost cuts as China slowdown drags down earnings

Apple's iPhone sales in China slip in Q3, Huawei share soars

Chinese robotaxi startup WeRide gets $4.21B valuation in US IPO

BofA's Hartnett says bets on gold are rising before US election

Amazon Prime introduces new benefit to save on gas