NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – The rising oil prices fueled fears of inflation on Friday and thus weighed on the US stock exchanges. Bond market yields soared, abruptly ending Wall Street’s recent record run. In general, the results of the summit between the USA and China regarding the Iran war were met with disappointment. It now remains the case that the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for world trade, is effectively closed.
The technology stocks that had recently risen particularly sharply in the wake of the euphoria surrounding artificial intelligence, but are also very economically sensitive, are now recording losses. The tech index NASDAQ 100 fell by 1.54 percent to 29,125.20 points.
The broad stock market barometer S&P 500 lost 1.24 percent to 7,408.50 points. The leading index Dow Jones Industrial lost 1.07 percent to 49,526.17 points. On a weekly basis, this results in a minus of 0.17 percent.
In addition to the renewed rise in the price of crude oil, the price data published this week also raised fears of inflation, said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. The expert pointed out that long-term yields are currently at their highest level in around twelve months. This has made bonds more attractive than stocks. This, according to Maley, has prompted investors to take some profits after the stock market’s huge six-week run higher.
Portfolio manager Thomas Altmann from QC Partners added that some trade agreements between Washington and Beijing also fell short of high expectations. According to US President Donald Trump, China has not, as hoped, purchased H200 chips from NVIDIA, which were specifically developed for generative AI. The Chinese have decided against it and want to develop their own chips, said the US President. Nvidia shares fell 4.4 percent at the end of the Dow.
With a loss of just under one percent, the Applied Materials stocks ultimately did not come under as much pressure as the overall market. Analysts had praised the equipment manufacturer’s quarterly report and outlook for the semiconductor industry.
In the weak environment, Cerebras Systems shares fell by almost 13 percent to just under $280. On Thursday they had a brilliant start to the stock market in the midst of the AI boom. The shares of the data center operator and chip manufacturer for AI applications closed almost 70 percent above their issue price of $185.
Bucking the trend, Microsoft gained more than 3 percent on Friday. Investor Bill Ackman’s hedge fund Pershing Square had built up a new stake in the software company. Ackman said Microsoft is stronger and more resilient than investors believed. The cloud-based subscription service Microsoft 365, which includes the Office programs Word and Excel, and the Azure cloud service are “two of the most valuable business areas in the field of corporate technology.”
Figma’s shares soared by a good 13 percent. The creative software company exceeded expectations with its first quarter and raised its annual targets. According to analysts, the figures have alleviated concerns about AI-related distortions./la/he
— By Lutz Alexander, dpa-AFX —