The results of the session indicate that the Nasdaq technology index rose 0.05% to an unprecedented 20,895.66 points, while the broader S&P500 fell 0.01%, and the selective Dow Jones 0.32%.
“We are witnessing profit-taking after a loaded week,” commented Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities to AFP.
Investors aim to “sell after the records hit Thursday by the S&P500 and Nasdaq,” driven by better-than-expected economic indicators, analysts from Briefing.com stated.
The stock exchange particularly welcomed retail sales in June, as well as inflation figures, both consumer and producer-related, released earlier in the week.
On the other hand, “household confidence in the economy improved this month due to reduced pressure on prices,” explained Jose Torres of Interactive Brokers in an analytical note.
This indicator, released Friday by the University of Michigan, increased slightly in July as expected but remains well below last year’s values.
With this economic information, Wall Street now questions the direction the Fed will prioritize in its upcoming monetary policy meetings.
On Thursday, one of the Fed’s governors, Christopher Waller, stressed that it was preferable to lower the benchmark interest rate “sooner rather than later,” expressing concerns that the Fed might begin to act only when the economy starts to cool.
Donald Trump also reiterated, in a post on his social network, the need for a substantial benchmark interest rate cut, arguing that the economy is “in great shape” and inflation “is very weak.”
However, most investors expect the situation to extend into the next Fed monetary policy committee meeting on July 29 and 30, anticipating a possible interest rate cut only in mid-September, according to the FedWatch survey.
