The Nasdaq Composite dropped for a sixth day in a row on Friday, marking its longest losing streak in over a year. This decline happened as Nvidia’s stock dived, adding to recent worries in the market due to geopolitical conflicts and persistent inflation.
The Nasdaq, which is full of tech companies, went down by 2.05% to 15,282.01 points. The broader S&P 500 also slipped by 0.88% to 4,967.23 points, falling below the 5,000 level. Both of these indexes have seen six days of losses in a row, something that hasn’t happened since October 2022.
On the other hand, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 211.02 points, or 0.56%, to close at 37,986.40 points. This increase was boosted by American Express’s stock, which jumped more than 6% after announcing its earnings.
Netflix’s stock went down by over 9% despite beating its earnings expectations for the quarter. The company’s number of subscribers went up by 16% from the previous year, but it said it wouldn’t report paid memberships anymore starting in 2025.
Chip stocks also faced pressure during afternoon trading, indicating that investors were moving away from the sector that had been leading the market. Nvidia fell by 10%, having its worst day since March 2020. Super Micro Computer dropped by more than 23%.
Although worries about increased tensions in the Middle East after Israel’s strike on Iran were present, they didn’t have a big impact on the market on Friday.
Oil prices went up briefly by more than 3%, but then went up and down afterward. Dow futures fell by more than 500 points at one point overnight due to fears that the attack could lead to a bigger conflict.
George Ball, chairman of Sanders Morris, mentioned that investors were relieved when they saw Israel’s response was restrained and aimed at avoiding a bigger conflict. However, he also noted that investors are more cautious about geopolitical risks now than they have been for a while.
Recap Of This Week
It was a tough week for the stock market, especially for the S&P 500, which had its worst performance since March 2023.
The index dropped more than 3%, marking its third consecutive week of losses. Tech stocks were hit particularly hard, being the worst-performing sector both daily and weekly.
The S&P 500 is now over 5% lower than its highest point in the past year, reflecting a general pullback in the market. This pullback is largely due to concerns about inflation and the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. Economists and experts predict that the Fed won’t lower interest rates until at least September, which has disappointed investors.
Bill Northey, an investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, noted that the market is dealing with various factors at once, including unexpected inflation levels.
The Nasdaq Composite fell by 5.5% this week, marking its fourth consecutive week of decline, the longest since December 2022. It was the worst week for the Nasdaq since November 2022.
Despite the general negativity, the Dow managed to gain 0.01% for the week, its first positive week in the last three.
