Wall Street faced severe turbulence on Friday, with technology stocks leading a significant downward movement in the market. Investors, already wary of expectations of tighter monetary policy, saw their hopes for interest rate cuts diminish significantly. The S&P 500 recorded a drop of 0,9%, marking the sixth consecutive day of losses, which resulted in its worst week since October 2022, with an accumulated devaluation of more than 3%.
The Nasdaq Composite, full of high-technology companies, fell 2,1% in the week, totaling a drop of more than 5%. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed relative resistance, rising around 0,6%.
The pressure on the technology sector was intensified by the disappointing results of Netflix, which saw its shares fall by 9%. “Expectations were that the quarterly reports could drive a recovery in shares, which clearly did not happen with the start of results from megacap techs,” commented a market analyst.
Among the major ones affected, Nvidia stood out with a sharp loss of 10%, while Amazon and Apple recorded drops of more than 2% and 1%, respectively. These movements reflected a globally risk-averse market, especially after geopolitical tensions exacerbated by an Israeli attack on Iran, which led investors to seek safety in assets such as gold.
“In the middle of the night, traders were taken by surprise by the attack, which generated a rush to safe havens,” reported a market operator. Iran confirmed the drone attack but said it was unsuccessful.
The environment was already tense before this incident, with inflation in the US showing higher-than-expected numbers in the first quarter, which led to a more conservative stance on the part of government leaders. Fed. This combination of factors resulted in an almost complete retraction in US government bonds after their biggest recovery of the year.
In the commodities market, Brent crude futures rose slightly, trading at around US$87 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0,5%, reaching approximately US$83 per barrel. Gold, in turn, saw an increase of 0,2% after a previous peak.
