- US stocks finished the week higher even as the AI trade showed signs of exhaustion.
- The Dow Jones led with a 1.5% gain this week, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were up about 0.5%.
- Some economists are calling on the Fed to cut interest rates in July as the risk of a recession grows.
US stocks closed mixed on Friday but finished the week higher even as the artificial intelligence trade showed signs of stumbling.
Leading the market higher this week was the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up nearly 2%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 finished the week higher by about one-half of a percent.
The meteoric rise of Nvidia stock took a breather on Thursday and Friday, with the stock down about 10% from its intra-day high of $140.76.
Other hot-AI stocks like Broadcom, Dell, and Super Micro Computer also fell between 1% and 3% in Friday’s trading session.
Investors are paying close attention to new economic data, as murmurs grow of a potential interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve in July following a spike in weekly jobless claims.
A July interest rate cut currently has a likelihood of just a 10%, according to the CME FedWatch Tool, though one economist sees the odds of a cut at the July policy meeting closer to 60%.
Such a move by the Federal Reserve would be to ensure that an economic recession doesn’t happen as inflation shows continued progress in falling.
Economist Claudia Sahm told CNBC on Friday that the Fed was “playing with fire” by keeping interest rates higher for longer.
“My baseline is not recession,” Sahm said. “But it’s a real risk, and I do not understand why the Fed is pushing that risk. I’m not sure what they’re waiting for.”
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Friday:
Here’s what else happened today:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 0.78% to $80.66 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was lower by 0.60% to $85.20 a barrel.
- Gold declined by 1.46% to $2,334.50 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury yield was flat at 4.26%.
- Bitcoin dropped 1.25% to $64,034.
