DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped Friday, capping a volatile week shaped by rising Treasury yields, elevated oil prices and the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate increase in three years. The blue chip index lost 95.40 points, or 0.18%, to close at 51,682.64.

The S&P 500 gained 0.17% to finish at 7,650.50, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.39% to 26,522.55. Those gains were not enough to rescue the broader market from a mixed weekly performance.

The Dow fell 1.7% for its third consecutive losing week and its worst showing since March. The S&P 500 declined about 0.1% for the week, while the technology focused Nasdaq gained 0.7%.

Treasury yields again pressured equities Friday. The 10 year Treasury yield briefly climbed above 5% after retreating Thursday and was last almost 6 basis points higher at 5.006%.

The yield had already reached its highest level since July 2007 earlier in the week. Meanwhile, the 30 year Treasury yield rose more than 3 basis points to 5.333% during Friday trading.

Oil remained another concern for markets despite finishing the week relatively unchanged. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 1.58% Friday to settle at $100.30 per barrel, while Brent crude futures dropped 0.91% to $103.87.

Stocks had staged a comeback Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised rates by a quarter percentage point. The central bank’s suggestion that at least one additional increase could arrive this year had driven the major averages lower Wednesday.

Technology shares helped lead Thursday’s rebound as investors returned their attention to artificial intelligence and its potential to support corporate profits. Yet the possibility of additional rate increases continued to hang over the market.

“Some uncertainty was removed this week when the Fed hiked rates,” said Scott Welch, chief investment officer at Certuity. Welch does not believe the latest increase will be the only move in a new rate hike cycle.

“At some point, whether it’s October or after the elections, I think the Fed will hike at least one more time in 2026 and probably another time or two in 2027,” Welch said. He expects continued upward pressure on Treasury yields and elevated oil prices for the next several months.

“While I’m not bearish on the market, I do think we’re kind of in a chug-along environment for the rest of this year,” Welch added. Investor sentiment had already deteriorated sharply as yields and energy prices climbed.

About 53% of individual investors were bearish on the six month outlook for stocks, according to the American Association of Individual Investors. That was an increase of about 14 percentage points from the previous week and the highest pessimism reading since May of last year.

Less than 29% of respondents described themselves as bullish, the smallest share in about a year. The bullish reading fell by about 10 percentage points in one week.

Financial stocks were among the week’s weakest performers. The SPDR Financials Sector Fund dropped more than 2% and headed for its largest weekly loss since March, with Goldman Sachs and Bank of America each falling around 8%.

Coinbase and FactSet limited some of the fund’s losses by rising more than 11% and 9%, respectively. Bitcoin climbed more than 5% and traded above $80,000 for the first time since Sept. 7 as enthusiasm increased around a regulatory path for tokenized stocks.

Other cryptocurrency related shares followed bitcoin higher. Strategy gained 12%, Robinhood advanced nearly 8% and Mara Holdings rose 9%.

BlackRock and State Street also drew attention after Bloomberg reported that the Department of Justice was considering joining a lawsuit brought by Texas and 12 other Republican state attorneys general. No final decision had been made, according to the report.

The states allege that BlackRock and State Street used their market power to pressure coal producers to reduce output in pursuit of climate related goals, causing electricity prices to rise. BlackRock recovered from an initial decline and gained more than 1% Friday, while State Street rebounded from its session low.

Berkshire Hathaway was another focus after Warren Buffett announced that he was stepping down as chairman. The 96 year old investor became chairman emeritus and remained a director, while his son Howard Buffett replaced him as chairman.

Buffett had led Berkshire since 1965, delivering a 19.7% compounded annual return during his tenure, roughly twice the S&P 500’s return. Berkshire shares were marginally lower in premarket trading Friday.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.