US stock markets saw declines on Friday. By the end of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Index was computed at 50,866 points, marking a decrease of 1.4 percent compared to the previous day’s closing figures. Just minutes before that, the broader S&P 500 stood at approximately 7,385 points, down 2.6 percent, while the Nasdaq 100 electronic exchange calculated a decline of 4.8 percent, resting at around 28,955 points.
Technology stocks were particularly responsible for burdening Wall Street. Shares from major technology corporations like Cisco Systems, IBM, and Nvidia were clearly in negative territory (in the red). This follows a period where the AI enthusiasm had driven counter-trends, making tech values key boosters on the exchanges. However, many investors seemingly used the elevated prices in this sector to sell off their positions. This selling pressure was fueled, in part, by a stable labor market report from Washington, which reinforced expectations that the Fed might implement another interest rate hike this year.
In other financial markets, the European common currency weakened on Friday evening; one Euro cost 1.1525 US dollars. Conversely, the Dollar could be bought for 0.8677 Euros. The price of gold sharply dropped, fetching $4,316 per fine ounce in the evening, representing a 3.7 percent decrease. This translates to a price of 120.39 Euros per gram. Oil prices also fell significantly; a barrel of North Sea Brent crude cost $93.06 as of approximately 10:06 PM German time on Friday-a reduction of 197 cents, or 2.1 percent, from the previous day’s close.
