US markets ended mostly lower on Friday with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq registering their second straight weekly loss. This was the first instance in 2023 when the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell for two weeks in a row. The last instance of the index falling two weeks or more was back in December 2022, when it fell four weeks at a stretch.
The index ended 0.6 percent lower on Friday due to a selloff in semiconductor stocks like AMD, Nvidia and Micron. For the week, it was down nearly 2 percent. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF ended 5.2 percent lower for the week, registering its worst week since October last year.
On the other hand, the Dow Jones ended 100 points higher, while the S&P 500 declined by 0.1 percent. For the week, the S&P 500 was down 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones gained 0.6 percent on a weekly basis.
This week’s moves are the latest in what’s been a rocky patch for the stock market after a strong performance in the first half of the year. The three major indexes are all lower than where they began August.
“Investors continue to try to hang their hat on more consistency” within economic data, said Greg Bassuk, CEO of AXS Investments. “What we’re seeing with these mixed results certainly increases the likelihood of more volatility ahead.”
Elsewhere, oil prices rallied for the seventh week in a row for the first time since June 2022. September natural gas contracts rose 7.5 percent for the week, the highest since mid-June.
The S&P 500 energy index emerged as the best among the 11 S&P 500 sectors, gaining 3.5 percent in the week gone by, followed by the S&P 500 Healthcare Index, which rose 2.5 percent.
