03:49 PM EDT, 04/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Consumer stocks were higher late Friday afternoon, with the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) increasing 0.1% and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) adding 0.5%.

In corporate news, a US judge overseeing Donald Trump's April 15 criminal trial reportedly blocked a subpoena by the former US president to Comcast's ( CMCSA ) NBCUniversal over a recent documentary about adult movie star Stormy Daniels, multiple media outlets reported Friday. Comcast ( CMCSA ) shares were shedding 0.3%.

Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk on Friday denied a Reuters report earlier in the day that the EV maker has canceled its plans to offer a less-expensive car. Tesla shares were falling 3.4%.

Paramount (PARA) would continue to trade publicly under an offer made by Skydance Media, CNBC reported. Under the terms of the deal, Skydance would either own a substantial minority stake or a majority stake in Paramount. Paramount shares dropped 2.8%.

Procter & Gamble ( PG ) started a voluntary recall of 8.2 million defective bags of Tide, Gain, Ace, and Ariel laundry detergent packets distributed in the US due to risk of serious injury. The defective bags can split open near the zipper track, posing injury risk to people if the contents are ingested. The company's shares still rose 0.4%.