Finance

Wall Street benchmarks finished lower on Friday as investors reacted to the prospect of prolonged restrictive monetary policy. The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all logged mild declines to end the session, though all three major indexes managed to cling to positive territory for the overall week.

Despite a major post-earnings surge from Nvidia following an upbeat revenue forecast, the broader semiconductor industry experienced significant headwinds. While major technology firms continue aggressive capital expenditures into artificial intelligence infrastructure, companies like Marvell Technology fell as analysts questioned whether future profits would justify the massive valuations.

Bitcoin recorded a robust surge of over 25% during August, briefly breaking above the $80,000 threshold for the first time in three months. The recovery from multi-month lows was primarily catalyzed by an expansion in the U.S. Treasury's long-term bond buyback program, alongside heavy short-position liquidations and continued institutional inflows into digital asset exchange-traded funds.