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The S&P 500 fell slightly on Friday, though the index was still on track to post a solid weekly gain, as traders kept an eye on the fragile two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran.
The Dow Jones Industrials fell 269.47 points to 47,916.33.
The broader index sagged 7.85 points to 6,816,81.
The NASDAQ added 80.48 points to 22,902.89, bolstered by gains in key semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia and Broadcom.
Shares in Palo Alto Networks collapsed $11.26, or 6.7%, to $155.73, while those for CrowdStrike gave back $15.66, or 4%, to $379.02.
This, after a major selloff on Thursday after faith in a partnership between these companies and AI giant Anthropic around its new Claude Mythos model faded.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday accused Iran of “short term extortion of the World by using International Waterways,” saying in a Truth Social post that its leaders “don’t seem to realize they have no cards” and that “the only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!”
This comes a day after the president warned that Iran should not charge fees to oil tankers that are traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, writing in a post on Truth Social: “They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!”
March’s consumer price index report showed that inflation was in line with expectations, standing at 0.9% for the month and 3.3% on an annual basis. That incorporated a 10.9% jump in energy costs due to the conflict.
Inflation was top of mind for investors this week as they assessed a number of key reports amid concerns that rising energy prices spurred by the conflict in the Middle East would ripple through the U.S. economy.
Nevertheless, the war has still led to a jump in inflation fears. According to a University of Michigan survey released Friday, consumers are anticipating that inflation will jump to 4.8% over the next year -- up a full percentage point from March’s reading.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury fell back a bit, raising yields to 4.32% from Wednesday’s 4.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices faded $1.67 to $96.20 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices dulled $34.10 to $4,783.90 U.S. an ounce.
