Finance

Driven by a robust surge in technology shares, the Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.2% to achieve a record intraday high on Friday and secured its third consecutive weekly gain. Conversely, despite participating in the Friday afternoon rally, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed the week in negative territory. The split performance underscores the ongoing leadership of mega-cap tech stocks in the broader market.

Yields on U.S. government debt fell sharply immediately following the release of the weak nonfarm payrolls report. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, which had recently hovered near a 24-year high around 5.34%, eased down toward the 5.16% range. This cooling fixed-income environment alleviated immediate fears regarding prolonged monetary tightening and helped bolster equities.

Cryptocurrency markets demonstrated upward momentum as Bitcoin climbed past the $86,000 threshold, while Ethereum successfully reclaimed the $2,700 mark. The digital asset space found support from cooling macroeconomic indicators alongside a newly raised 12-month Bitcoin target of $113,000 issued by Citi. However, emerging cross-currents from institutional ETF flows and incoming SEC rules on asset custody continue to present near-term regulatory hurdles.