Finance

Semiconductor bellwether Nvidia reported exceptionally strong fiscal second-quarter financial results and issued an upbeat 70% revenue growth outlook for the upcoming fiscal year. While the announcement initially triggered a powerful tech-led rally that single-handedly drove equity indexes higher earlier in the week, it was not enough to prevent broader semiconductor exchange-traded funds from pulling back over the five-day period.

Wall Street equities experienced a minor downturn on Friday, ending the final trading session of the week in negative territory across the board. However, strong mid-week gains allowed the Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average to secure overall weekly gains, with the S&P 500 finishing just over 1% away from its all-time high.

The prospect of tightening monetary conditions sent the U.S. dollar on its steepest single-day climb in two and a half months against a basket of major foreign currencies. Concurrently, the hawkish macroeconomic outlook weighed heavily on commodities and precious metals, causing spot gold to drop more than 3% and crude oil prices to log their first weekly loss in nearly a month.