Stocks closed lower on Friday with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all finishing the week in negative territory. Tech stocks took a hit as Nvidia shares fell over 5%, offsetting gains in other sectors.
Despite the stock market downturn, the US economy showed some positive signs as February’s non-farm payroll report revealed the addition of 275,000 jobs. However, the unemployment rate saw a slight uptick to 3.9%.
Central banks around the world are in focus as officials from the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan hinted at potential rate cuts or rate hikes in the near future. Investors are watching closely to see how these decisions will affect the global economy.
In corporate news, Costco shares dropped 7% after missing quarterly sales expectations. Similarly, Broadcoms revenue beat and AI-linked chip sales forecast didn’t impress investors, causing the stock to decline.
On a positive note for investors, gold futures continued to rally, eyeing their biggest weekly jump in five months amid expectations of a mid-year rate cut by the Federal Reserve. This news could potentially benefit those investing in precious metals.
Overall, market watchers are keeping a close eye on economic indicators and corporate earnings reports as they try to gauge the health of the global economy amidst geopolitical uncertainty and central bank actions.
