Finance

Wall Street equities finished modestly lower on Friday as market participants digested hawkish monetary signals, though all three major indexes managed to lock in positive performances for the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.52% on the day, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25% and 0.02%, respectively. Over the full five-day trading period, the Nasdaq advanced 0.8% or 0.9%, while the S&P 500 and Dow both edged up by 0.5%.

Even though Nvidia delivered a robust revenue forecast that briefly energized investors, the broader semiconductor sector faced downward pressure throughout the week. Shares of Marvell Technology plunged 10% on Friday following its fiscal guidance update, demonstrating the elevated expectations facing artificial intelligence-linked companies. Driven by specific laggards like Marvell and Applied Materials, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF logged a weekly decline exceeding 3%.

Cryptocurrencies have seen heightened bullish momentum to round out August, propelled by recent policy shifts from the U.S. Treasury Department. Capital inflows accelerated after the government expanded its long-term bond-buying program, a liquidity-injecting move that functions as a debasement hedge favoring digital assets. Bitcoin crossed the $80,000 threshold for the first time in over three months, reflecting renewed appetite for risk assets.