S&P 500 posts third straight losing day as traders eye Middle East tensions, Trump's next steps
The S&P 500 fell on Friday as investors monitored the latest developments out of the Middle East. Traders also contemplated the path of future interest rate cuts by Federal Reserve.
The broad market index declined 0.22% to end at 5,967.84, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.51% and settled at 19,447.41. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 35.16 points, or 0.08%, closing at 42,206.82.
Chip stocks came under pressure following a report by The Wall Street Journal that the U.S. may revoke waivers for some semiconductor manufacturers. Nvidia was down more than 1%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing slid nearly 2%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) was lower by nearly 1%.
The S&P 500 started off the trading session higher after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said that the central bank could cut rates as early as July. 'I think we're in the position that we could do this and as early as July,' Waller said during a ' Squawk Box ' interview.
'That would be my view, whether the committee would go along with it or not,' he added.
This comes after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday the central bank was in no hurry to cut benchmark rates and will remain data dependent, especially as it remains unclear how President Donald Trump's tariffs will impact the economy. The S&P 500 closed slightly lower that day following those remarks.
Trump ripped into Powell again Thursday, saying the Fed Chair is costing the U.S. 'hundreds of billions of dollars' by delaying rate cuts. The president said ahead of the Fed's decision Wednesday that 'stupid' Powell 'probably won't cut' rates.
Tensions around the Israel-Iran conflict also remained high, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly ordering Jerusalem's military to strike 'strategic targets' in Iran, as well as 'government targets.'
Trump is weighing direct U.S. involvement with a strike on Tehran, with the White House on Thursday saying that he will make a final decision within the next two weeks. Trump previously called for Tehran's complete surrender, to which Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, labeled the notion 'threatening and ridiculous.'
'With so much uncertainty going on in this world, who really wants to go long over the weekend,' said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. He also pointed out that the S&P 500 is still trading at just around 3% below its recent 52-week high, saying that 'prior highs act like rusty doors and require several attempts before finally swinging open.'
'If there's a calming down of the geopolitical activities, then you know that could be helpful,' he continued.
For the week, the S&P 500 was about 0.2% lower. The 30-stock Dow eked out a 0.02% gain on the week, while the Nasdaq advanced 0.2%.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Zuckerberg's political shift didn't shock Meta staff: ‘The whole time this was all one inch underneath'
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg 's recent public support for President Donald Trump did not come as a shock to those who know or have closely worked with him, with dozens of people saying some changes at the company are part of the tech billionaire's long-held beliefs. Dozens of people who have either worked with or known Zuckerberg told the Financial Times that the CEO's more public shift toward Trump is just Zuckerberg displaying the more 'authentic' version of himself to the world, even though he was once known to support liberal ideology and voiced opposition to Trump's policies during the first administration. 'Mark was trying to keep his real feelings tight inside and put on a suit and cut his hair and be a good boy. But the whole time this was all one inch underneath,' an unnamed Meta insider told the outlet. 'Then he said, 'F*** it. I might as well be the person I really am.'' Since Trump was elected in November, the Meta CEO has met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund, attended the inauguration, co-hosted a reception, and changed company policy to align more closely with the administration. Insiders told the newspaper that the tech billionaire's unapologetic pro-'masculine energy', free speech-loving shift is only a shift to the public. 'The public is seeing him more how we have, internally, since the beginning.' Andrew Bosworth, Meta's CTO, told FT. Bosworth suggested that Zuckerberg's former suit-wearing, government-obeying self was just the Meta CEO doing what he thought he was supposed to be doing. The Independent has asked the White House for comment. Meta declined to comment for this story. Zuckerberg's private shift toward more conservative figures, such as Trump, was reportedly a slow movement that was seemingly triggered by constant pushback against Facebook – Meta's former name – from both the public and lawmakers, especially those seeking to regulate the tech industry. One major shift came in 2020, when Biden administration officials pressured Zuckerberg to censor misinformation about Covid on his social media platform, which he did and later regretted. But under the Trump administration, Zuckerberg appears less concerned with appeasing the public. Appearing on Joe Rogan's podcast recently, the Meta CEO said he believes 'masculine energy is good.' Even when executives challenged Zuckerberg's comments, he refused to apologize. Those familiar with Zuckerberg told FT that his decision to lean into hobbies such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu or wear more streetwear or cozy up to the administration is all part of Zuckerberg's efforts to get people to like him. 'He saw that Elon Musk was popular among the tech bros,' a former insider said. 'There was a push to make him cool. The core of the Social Network movie is true — he just wants people to like him.'
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Trump says he may have to change his mind about firing Fed chair Powell
WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he may have to change his mind about firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump made the comment in a lengthy social media post criticizing the Federal Reserve's decision to not lower interest rates. "I don't know why the Board doesn't override (Powell)," Trump wrote. "Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to change my mind about firing him? But regardless, his Term ends shortly," Trump added. "I fully understand that my strong criticism of him makes it more difficult for him to do what he should be doing, lowering Rates, but I've tried it all different ways," Trump said.
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Trump launches intriguing new call to arms video to pass massive tax cuts in his 'big beautiful bill'
The White House drafted several members of Congress to help sell the president's 'Big Beautiful Bill' in a new video, as the deadline to pass it grows closer. The video, provided exclusively to the Daily Mail offers a window into the White House effort to move the bill through Congress by July 4th for the president to sign. Members of Congress were drafted by the president's team at the White House Congressional picnic to speak in support of the bill, highlighting why they were supporting the president's efforts. Sens. Roger Marshall of Kansas, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania were featured in the video, as well as Reps. Chuck Fleischmann, Diana Harshbarger, Erin Houchin, and Anna Paulina Luna. The Republicans touted the bill's efforts to prevent the 'largest tax increase in history,' by extending expiring rate hikes, securing funding for border security, energy development, and tax relief, 'This is a bill for working families, working Americans,' Houchin said. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, touted the expansion of the child tax credit and savings accounts for every new child in the United States and ending tax on tips. 'This is a net positive for America,' she said. President Trump urged the Senate to keep working on the bill during his speech at the picnic. 'We're shooting for the 4th of July,' he told members of Congress. 'I think it's going to be the most important piece of legislation that our country has passed in many, many years.' The bill passed the House with a slim Republican majority vote of 215-214 and now is working its way through the Senate. Despite pressure from the president, some Republican senators are opposed to the measure, warning that it spends too much money and adds to the deficit. Sen. Rand Paul signaled his opposition to the bill telling Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo in a recent he would need more negotiations before he was willing to vote for it. 'Right now they are not negotiating with me, because they don't think they need me, so I will not be the deciding vote. The bill will not fail because of me,' he said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune can lose four Republican votes to pass the bill, provided that Vice President JD Vance can help it pass by breaking a tie. After Paul vocally criticized the bill he said he was 'uninvited' from the White House picnic, telling reporters he felt the move was 'incredibly petty.' Trump re-extended the invitation to the Senator and his family on social media. 'Of course Senator Rand Paul and his beautiful wife and family are invited to the BIG White House Party tonight,' Trump wrote, describing Paul as 'the toughest vote in the history of the U.S. Senate.' The president's signature bill struggled out of the gate to win support, especially after billionaire Elon Musk criticized the bill as a 'massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill' that was 'a disgusting abomination.' Republicans defended the measure, arguing that the tax cuts in the bill would help boost revenues for the treasury through economic growth. Congressional Democrats remain universally opposed to the legislation.
