Technology shares reversed earlier losses to close higher on Friday, securing a weekly gain after a volatile stretch, while the S&P 500 edged up slightly. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.7%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.2%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF climbed 2.7%, following a 3.4% jump on Thursday. The S&P 500 equal-weight index slid for a fifth consecutive week, marking its longest losing streak since 2023.
Brent crude fell 1.4% to $103 per barrel, extending its decline to a third straight session. Max Kettner, chief multi-asset strategist at HSBC, said in an interview that if oil prices continue retreating from recent highs, it could provide support for growth stocks and technology names like semiconductors.
Traders are now looking ahead to a meeting of Gulf states scheduled for next week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, seeking further clues on the trajectory of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran. Meanwhile, following the Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike since 2023 on Wednesday, investors are debating how markets will behave during this tightening cycle.
Nadia Lovell, head of global equity strategy at UBS, noted in an interview: "We do expect some volatility in the near term, but at the end of the day, what really drives markets is corporate earnings, and fundamentals remain very strong."
At the closing bell, the S&P 500 advanced 0.2% to 7,650.5 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 51,682.64. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4% to 26,522.54, and the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.7% to 29,644.17. The Russell 2000 declined 0.5% to 2,860.396.