Finance

Major Wall Street benchmarks posted mild declines on Friday as investors reacted to potential upcoming rate hikes. The Nasdaq Composite bore the brunt of the late-day selling pressure with a 0.52% drop, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average suffered smaller declines of 0.25% and 0.02%, respectively. Despite the Friday dip, all three key indices managed to close out the trading week with modest net gains.

Bitcoin and Ethereum faced downward pressure late in the week, reversing earlier optimism that had briefly driven Bitcoin above the $81,000 threshold. The market downturn was triggered by renewed expectations of tighter U.S. monetary policy following the Federal Reserve's speech. At the close of Friday's sessions, Bitcoin slipped back to the $77,000 range, while Ethereum consolidated below the $2,500 psychological barrier.

Crude oil futures settled lower on Friday, wrapping up the week with a notable drop of over 4% for West Texas Intermediate and more than 5% for Brent crude. Energy traders scaled back risk premiums amid rumors of a potential weekend agreement to reopen shipping lines through the crucial Strait of Hormuz. Additionally, the prospect of prolonged high global borrowing costs weighed heavily on demand forecasts, offsetting recent supply disruptions caused by strikes on Russian refineries.