Wall Street ends week lower as tech shares retreat

U.S. stock markets closed lower at the end of the week, as investors continued to rotate out of technology shares, putting pressure on major indices.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.51%, or 245.96 points, to close at 48,458.05. The broader S&P 500 index declined by 1.07%, losing 73.59 points to finish at 6,827.41.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded the steepest losses, dropping 1.69%, or 398.69 points, to 23,195.17.

Market volatility increased, with the Volatility Index (VIX), often referred to as the “fear gauge”, rising 5.99% to 15.74.

In corporate news, shares of Oracle fell sharply after the company reported earnings this week. The stock dropped 11% on Thursday after revenues missed market expectations, followed by a further 4.5% decline on Friday.

Broadcom shares also slid 11.5% after the company released its balance sheet following Thursday’s market close, despite reporting profits and revenues that exceeded forecasts.

Among other major technology stocks, Nvidia shares fell 3.3%, Amazon declined 1.8%, Meta slipped 1.3%, while Alphabet and Microsoft each lost around 1%.

On the political front, U.S. President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he was close to choosing either White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett or former Federal Reserve Board member Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve.

Trump said the new chair should consult with him on interest rate decisions and reiterated his view that the policy rate should be at 1% or lower within a year.

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