Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq Open Down; Trump Trade Hope; Oracle, Intel, AMD, Tesla, More Movers
Stocks mostly fell on Friday, on pace to wrap a tumultuous week mired with geopolitical tensions. The U.S. dollar is staring at its worst week in seven months, while gold clocks another gain.
The S&P 500 is down 0.1%, while the Dow is down 0.3%. The Nasdaq is flat. All three indexes had been enjoying a relief rally since President Donald Trump backed off imposing tariffs on European allies over Greenland.
The mood change could be ascribed in part to Intel, which shared a downbeat outlook due to the soaring cost of memory components. The chip maker’s shares are down by double-digits.
Tensions with Iran are also higher now as Trump, aboard Air Force One, said the U.S. has warships moving toward Iran. It’s not good news for investors in the equity market that had just breathed a sigh of relief after Trump climbed down on Greenland.
“Earnings resilience & rates stability are key for equities to shrug off geopolitical noise,” wrote Barclays strategists this morning.
The S&P 500 is currently down 0.76% over the last two weeks, its first back-to-back weekly declines since the two weeks ending June of last year, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
The dollar is lower by 0.1% against a basket of major currencies. Considering the losses this week, the dollar is on pace for its worst week since June 27. Meanwhile, the yen has spiked as investors see some prospect of the Japanese government buying it directly to prop it up.
In the commodities world, gold is racing toward $5,000. Goldman is calling for $5,400 by the end of this year as more private buyers move into gold to hedge global policy risks. Central bank buying has driven gold higher in prior years.
