As Wall Street closed out a turbulent week, stocks declined on Friday under pressure from a rise in oil prices and rising inflation forecasts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained slightly below flat while the S&P 500 dropped 0.6%. The Nasdaq Composite decreased by almost 1.3%.
After consumer confidence data was released earlier on Friday, the major indices retreated from their session highs. Consumer sentiment data fell in October as inflation expectations rose, according to the carefully monitored survey from the University of Michigan.
Due to concerns that the Israel-Hamas conflict could worsen geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, oil prices increased by more than 5% on Friday, and the S&P 500 hit its lowest point of the day. WTI crude is expected to experience its biggest weekly increase since September 1.
Bond yields were another factor that investors watched. At 4.631%, the yield on the 10-year Treasury has decreased by 8 basis points. At 5.062%, the 2-year Treasury yield was down less than one basis point. Prices and yields have an opposite connection.
Source (CNBC)