Stocks ended Thursday's session in the red, and futures were mixed early Friday as investors absorbed a dense mix of corporate and economic news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 189.40 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 52,297.09. The S&P 500 lost 0.35 percent to finish at 7,592.40, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.39 percent to 25,366. Within the Dow, nineteen of the thirty components ended lower.
Several forces were pulling at markets simultaneously. Nvidia's sudden change in leadership unsettled technology investors early in the week. At the same time, oil prices rebounded after President Trump said the United States does not need a deal with Iran, a comment that reversed market expectations that a newly Democratic-controlled Congress might push for a faster diplomatic resolution in the Middle East. Brent crude traded near $95 to $96 a barrel and U.S. benchmark WTI crude was around $88 a barrel. Rising oil prices helped lift energy stocks even as the broader market slipped.
Treasury yields climbed alongside the inflation and rate-hike talk coming out of the Federal Reserve this week, with the 10-year yield trading around 5.1 percent. The U.S. dollar touched its highest level in about nineteen months. Gold held near $3,894 to $3,901 an ounce, close to its lows for the year, while bitcoin slipped about 3.3 percent to roughly $69,150.
Overseas, the picture was more mixed. European stocks closed higher on Thursday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index hitting a record, Germany's DAX up 0.4 percent to 26,772, and London's FTSE 100 up about a quarter of a percent to nearly 10,863. In Asia on Friday, Shanghai's Composite index slipped about 0.5 percent, South Korea's Kospi fell roughly 0.85 percent, and India's Nifty 50 was down about 0.6 percent. The Japanese yen weakened back toward 160 per dollar, a level that has previously drawn warnings from Japanese officials about possible currency intervention.
Friday's U.S. producer price index, a measure of wholesale inflation expected to show a 0.4 percent monthly rise, will be the next major data point for markets trying to gauge how aggressively the Fed will move in December.
Why did oil prices rise this week?
Oil rallied after President Trump said the U.S. does not need a deal with Iran, which reversed expectations of a quick diplomatic resolution in the Middle East.
What is the market watching for next?
Friday's producer price index report on wholesale inflation, which will factor into the Federal Reserve's December interest rate decision.