Finance

Despite broad market gains, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8% as investors rotated away from previous artificial intelligence winners. Semiconductor stocks were particularly hard hit, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging approximately 5% and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF falling 4.5%. Major players like Nvidia and Micron saw declines as Wall Street reassessed the valuation of the red-hot AI trade.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ended the week near 4.49%, maintaining recent gains even as the weaker jobs report reduced expectations for a July interest rate hike. While yields tested 4.5% earlier in the session, comments from Fed Chair Kevin Warsh regarding softening inflation risks helped ease upward pressure. Markets are currently pricing in more than a 60% chance of a rate hike occurring later in September rather than the summer.

Cryptocurrency markets saw a recovery in early July, with Bitcoin climbing above the $62,000 mark after a challenging first half of the year. The rebound was supported by the weaker U.S. employment data, which served as a short-term catalyst for risk-on assets. Analysts noted that while altcoins have struggled more than Bitcoin, easing inflation signals and shifting expectations for Federal Reserve policy have provided a necessary lift to the broader digital asset space.