U.S. stock markets experienced declines last Friday. By the close in New York, the Dow finished at 52,146 points, representing a 0.8 percent drop from the preceding trading day. The broader S&P 500 was also down 1.0 percent at around 7,455 points, while the technology-focused Nasdaq 100 closed at approximately 28,590 points, falling by 1.5 percent at that time.
This negative trend was fueled by a sell-off among technology stocks, with many investors concerned about a soft landing for the current boom in artificial intelligence.
In economic terms, U.S. export prices rose by 0.6 percent, better than expected. Conversely, import prices failed to decline as projected, increasing by 0.3 percent. Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, suggested that the rise in raw material prices was likely responsible for this upward movement. These figures provide further justification for calls from some U.S. central bankers for a preventive interest rate hike.
Regarding global assets, the strength of the euro weakened slightly on Friday evening, trading at 1.1438 U.S. dollars per euro, meaning the dollar was valued at 0.8743 euros. Conversely, gold benefited from the market movement, climbing 0.9 percent in the evening to reach $4,010 per fine ounce, equivalent to 112.72 euros per gram.
Meanwhile, oil prices surged significantly. The Brent crude oil futures price climbed 3.9 percent to reach $87.54 per barrel around 10 p.m. CET on Friday, marking a sharp increase from the previous day’s close.
