US Markets Reach New Heights as Tech and Chip Stocks Soar

Major US stock indices closed mixed on Friday, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 both reaching new intraday record highs. The Nasdaq climbed to a peak of 24,854.04 points, while the S&P 500 advanced to 7,168.59 points. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.44%, whereas the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5% and the S&P 500 rose by 0.55%.

At the market close, the Dow Jones was down 79.61 points, or 0.16%, finishing at 49,230.71. The Nasdaq increased by 398.09 points, or 1.63%, to settle at 24,836.60. The S&P 500 added 56.68 points, or 0.80%, closing at 7,165.08.

Chip stocks experienced broad-based gains. Intel led the components of the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index with a surge of 23.6%. ARM Holdings advanced by 14.76%, and Advanced Micro Devices rose by 13.91%. Newly listed stock X-Energy saw a first-day jump of 26.96%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index increased by 1.59%.

In European markets, Germany's DAX 30 index fell by 43.56 points, or 0.18%, to 24,137.12. The UK's FTSE 100 dropped 78.49 points, or 0.75%, to 10,378.52. France's CAC 40 declined by 69.50 points, or 0.84%, to 8,157.82. The Euro Stoxx 50 decreased by 12.98 points, or 0.22%, to 5,881.75. Spain's IBEX 35 was down 208.13 points, or 1.16%, at 17,677.77, and Italy's FTSE MIB lost 254.91 points, or 0.53%, closing at 47,652.50.

Asian markets showed mixed results, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 0.97%, while South Korea's KOSPI index edged slightly lower.

The US Dollar Index declined as signs emerged of a potential easing in the prolonged US-Iran stalemate, suggesting possible renewed negotiations. Concurrently, the US Department of Justice announced it would end its investigation into the Federal Reserve, a move that could pave the way for Kevin Warsh, a nominee of former President Trump, to become Fed Chair and potentially push for interest rate cuts. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2% on Friday, narrowing its weekly gain to 0.3%.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin edged up 0.08% to $77,388.75, and Ethereum increased by 0.12% to $2,314.80.

Oil prices were mixed. The June delivery light crude oil futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $1.45 to settle at $94.40 per barrel, a decline of 1.51%. Meanwhile, the June delivery Brent crude futures contract in London rose by 26 cents to close at $105.33 per barrel, a gain of 0.25%.

Precious metals saw gains, with spot gold rising 0.31% to $4,707.57 per ounce and spot silver increasing 0.35% to $75.699 per ounce.

A survey released Friday indicated that US consumer confidence in April dropped to its lowest level in nearly four years, primarily driven by heightened inflation concerns due to the Iran conflict. The University of Michigan's final Consumer Sentiment Index for the month was 49.8, the lowest reading since June 2022, though it improved from a preliminary reading of 47.6 earlier in the month. The index stood at 53.3 in March. The director of the survey noted that confidence partially recovered from early-month declines following the announcement of a two-week ceasefire and a slight dip in gasoline prices, suggesting the conflict's impact was largely channeled through price pressures.

Reports indicated that Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi, who arrived in Islamabad, currently has no scheduled direct talks with US representatives. Instead, he intends to use Pakistan as an intermediary to convey Iran's concerns regarding ending the current conflict. A Pakistani source suggested that discussions with Iranian officials would focus on prerequisites for US-Iran negotiations, with potential direct talks to follow if progress is made. A Pakistani official stated that the focus of meetings in Islamabad is restarting dialogue with the previous US administration, and the prospect of trilateral talks would be assessed after meetings with the Iranian foreign minister. The minister's itinerary includes travel to Muscat, Oman, and then Moscow, leaving the timing of a potential meeting with a US envoy unclear. Sources indicated a meeting could occur on the coming Monday, following separate bilateral talks between US envoys and Pakistani mediators.

The CFO of oilfield services company Baker Hughes stated that the Strait of Hormuz might not fully reopen for navigation for several more months, expecting the US-Iran conflict to persist until at least the end of June. He projected that the strait may not return to full normal operation until the second half of the year. This view is widely shared within the energy industry, with a Dallas Fed survey of nearly 100 oil and gas executives showing nearly 80% believe the strait will not reopen before August or later.

In corporate news, Alphabet plans to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic. An initial investment of $10 billion is planned, with a potential follow-on investment of $30 billion, strengthening the relationship between the two firms, which are both partners and competitors in the AI field. Anthropic stated that the immediate $10 billion cash commitment is based on a $350 billion valuation, consistent with its February funding round. If performance targets are met, the additional $30 billion investment would support a significant expansion of Anthropic's computing capacity, following the breakthrough success of its AI assistant Claude Code.

Regarding analyst ratings, Oppenheimer raised its price target for Amazon from $260 to $275.