US equities closed mixed on Friday after recovering from steep early losses, with technology stocks rebounding while defensive sectors lagged. The S&P 500 down 0.05% (6734), the Nasdaq up 0.06%, and the Dow fell 0.41%. Technology reversed Thursday's sharp declines with Nvidia up 2.4%, Microsoft up 1.4%, Oracle up 1.4%, and Palantir up 1.1%, reflecting bargain hunting after stretched AI valuation concerns triggered the worst one-day decline since October 10. Defensive names underperformed with UnitedHealth down 3.2%, Home Depot down 1.6%, Mastercard down 1.8%, and Netflix down 3.6%, as market breadth remained uneven with several large caps hitting fresh highs while others sank to yearly lows. The session underscored ongoing uncertainty around Fed policy with December rate-cut probabilities compressed to 50% from 95% a month earlier as several Fed officials signaled caution over further easing despite government shutdown ending and removing one source of uncertainty.
European markets fell in line with Wall Street Thursday weakness with STOXX 600 down 0.7%, Germany's DAX down 0.6%, FTSE 100 down 0.9%, and CAC 40 down 0.8%, though indices posted weekly gains with STOXX 50 up 2.3% and STOXX 600 up 1.8% for the week after hitting record highs earlier. Asian markets opened broadly lower this morning with Japan's Nikkei down 0.1%, South Korea's KOSPI down 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng down 0.7% after dropping 1.9% Friday following Wall Street's Thursday slump.
US 10-year Treasury yield down 5 basis points (4.10), while the 2-year yield flat (3.61), as risk aversion intensified and investors awaited revised release schedule for delayed economic indicators.
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