U.S. stock markets were mixed on Friday. At the close in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average settled at 49,099, down 0.6 % from the previous day. A few minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 was slightly higher at about 6,916 points, and the technology‑focused Nasdaq traded at roughly 25,605 points, up 0.3 %.
Intel fell sharply during the session. Although the new quarterly report showed a smaller net loss than feared, the company’s outlook for the current quarter did not convince investors, with supply chain shortages cited as the main reason for the weak forecast.
On the currency front, the euro strengthened: one euro traded at 1.1821 U.S. dollars, meaning one dollar was 0.8460 euros.
Gold benefited, trading at $4,980 per fine ounce in the evening-an increase of 0.9 %-which translates to about 135.46 euros per gram.
Oil saw a significant rise: at roughly 10 pm German time on Friday evening, a barrel of North Sea Brent averaged $65.92, up 2.9 % from the previous day’s close.
