US Stock Log | The three indexes fell and gold โprices โขhitโฃ a new high
U.S. stock indexesโค declined Friday amid cautious remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell regarding future interest rate cuts, while gold prices surged to a record high. The Nasdaq Composite fellโค 2.8%, the S&P 500โ dropped 1.5%, and the Dow Jones industrial โAverage decreased 1.0%.
Recent market gains have been fueled โขby expectations of easing monetary policy, but Powell’s statement emphasized a need for โคa “quite cautious” approach to rate reductions, citing risks of rising inflation and slowing employment. This shift in tone contributed to โคdeclines in major tech stocks; Nvidia rose nearly โ4% last day but fell by about 2.8% today,Amazon fell 3%,and Oracle โคdropped 4.3%. Conversely, โฃonline real estate agency Opendoorโ experienced a sharp 15% decline followingโ major โshareholder sales and criticism ofโ its business model,โ while Better Home & Finance rose more than 30%.
Powell stated, “Inflation risks tend to rise and employment risks tend to โslow downโ in theโข short term,โ which is a challenging situation. Two-way risk means thereโข is no risk-free path.” He also acknowledged high stockโฃ valuations, noting, “for multiple indicators, such โas stock โคprices,โฃ the valuation is โคreally high.”
Despite these concerns, Powellโ indicatedโค thatโข theโค current environment “is not the time when financial stability risksโค heatโ up.” Heโ also commented on market expectations,โ saying, “The market will listen to us and follow us, and then estimate the direction of interest rates, which will be reflected inโ the price inโข advance.”