US stock market indices edged lower on Friday, as Intel Corp slumped on a weak outlook and lingering geopolitical concerns weighed.
At 09:48 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 320.71 points, or 0.65%, to 49,063.30, the S&P 500 lost 14.68 points, or 0.21%, to 6,898.78 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 36.50 points, or 0.16%, to 23,399.52.
At 09:30 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 133.13 points, or 0.32%, to 49,226.80, the S&P 500 fell 3.62 points, or 0.03%, to 6,911.27 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.30 points, or 0.01%, to 23,438.32.
On the economic data front, S&P Global flash PMI report showed US business activity was steady in January, as an improvement in new orders was offset by a lackluster labor market.
Investors’ focus has now shifted to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting and earnings reports from Apple, Tesla and Microsoft next week. The US central bank is expected to hold interest rates.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.25% from 4.26% late on Thursday.
Key Stock Movers
Intel shares slumped 15% after the chipmaker reported a loss and released a revenue forecast that missed analyst expectations.
Nvidia stock surged 1.4% after Bloomberg News reported that Chinese officials have told Alibaba, Tencent and ByteDance that they can prepare orders for the US chipmaker’s H200 AI chips.
Capital One Financial stock sank 3.8% after the firm reported a weaker quarterly profit.
Shares of miners Hecla Mining and Coeur Mining rose 0.6% and 0.3%, respectively, following silver prices rising to record high near the $100 per ounce mark.
Bullion Market
Silver prices jumped to record high of $100 an ounce for the first time on Friday on robust demand. The white metal has surged more than 200% since Trump took office for a second term in January last year.
Gold prices steadied after surging to a record high just below the $5,000 an-ounce level.
At 1332 GMT, spot gold was steady at $4,931.28 an ounce. Earlier in the day, it touched a record $4,967.03. US gold futures for February delivery added 0.4% to $4,934.20.
Palladium jumped by 2.3% to $1,963.18. Spot platinum gained 2.6% to $2,696.57 an ounce.
Crude Oil
Oil prices rebounded on Friday after US President Donald Trump renewed threats against Iran, raising concerns of military action that could disrupt crude supplies.
Brent crude futures for March rose $1.68, or 2.6%, to $65.74 a barrel by 1408 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.63, or 2.8%, at $60.99.
