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Wall Street closed lower on Friday, pulled down by tech and financial stocks. Investor mood remained subdued on falling chip stocks and weak consumer sentiment numbers. A Fed official remained cautious in his remarks about expected rate cuts. Two of the three benchmark indexes closed in the red, while one remained virtually unchanged.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) remained virtually unchanged, rising less than 0.1%, or 34.86 points, to close at 44,946.12. Seventeen components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory, while 13 ended in positive.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 87.69 points, or 0.4%, to 21,622.98.
The S&P 500 lost 18.74 points, or 0.3%, to close at 6,449.80. Five of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red. The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF), the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Industrials Select Sector SPDR (XLI) declined 1%, 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively, while the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) gained 1.7%.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) increased 1.8% to 15.09. A total of 16.3 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 18.2 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 1.30-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.36-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
On Friday, while the broader market awaited the results of the meeting between President Trump and President Putin in Alaska with bated breath, chip stocks ended lower on Wall Street as a mix of corporate and political pressures weighed heavily on the sector. The biggest catalyst was President Donald Trump floating the possibility of raising tariffs on imported semiconductors to as high as 300%. The prospect of such extreme trade barriers rattled investors, as it would disrupt supply chains, inflate costs and dampen global competitiveness for U.S. chipmakers. Shares of AMD, NVIDIA and Broadcom slipped over 1% each, as investors weighed the risks of escalating protectionism on an industry that relies heavily on international production and distribution.
One exception within the sector was Intel Corporation INTC, which bucked the downward trend and gained nearly 3%. Reports suggested that the company could benefit from increased U.S. government support through CHIPS Act funding, a factor that temporarily insulated it from the wider selloff. Yet, the combination of weak earnings guidance, tariff threats and profit-taking left most chip stocks struggling, making semiconductors one of the day’s weakest corners of the market.
