The actions and other financial titles known for their price volatility fell while the lowering feeling seized the markets at the end of the week. In addition, the escalation of trade tensions, disappointing profits and signs of economic fragility weighed on the confidence of investors.
President Donald Trump relaunched threats to a 25% rate on imports from Mexico and Canada, which would come into force on Tuesday. He also targeted the goods of the European Union, including cars, and said it would impose an additional 10% rate on Chinese imports.
Radical commercial measures have traced the markets, triggering wide sales, cryptocurrencies with the weight of risk aversion.
A dive and a crisp
Although seeing a small increase after diving below $ 80,000 in early Friday traffic, Bitcoin enters a lower market after dropping more than 20% of its peak. The feeling of digital active space has worsened following a massive security violation in Bybit, where the hackers stole $ 1.5 billion in Ethereum in one of the biggest crypto burglaries in history.
Chip Darling cannot save the day
The high -flying artificial intelligence sector took a hit because investors were reassessing its high concepts. NVIDIA Corp. suffered strong losses after providing profits which, although stronger than expected, did not surprise investors accustomed to impressive beats. The Sharp retirement of the Stock has dragged Down Peers Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Broadcom Inc., Qualcomm Inc. and Intel Corp.
Other cracks are starting to show
New cracks in economic data have emerged, adding to the anxiety of investors. While the gross domestic product of the fourth quarter remained unchanged at an annualized growth rate of 2.3%, inflation measures for the same quarter were revised.
In January, personal expenses were taken by 0.2% over the month, marking the first negative reading since March 2023. The personal consumer price index – the FED preferred inflation gauge – came to 2.5% as planned, remaining above the target of 2%.
Housing data also disappointed, pending sales of houses plunging 4.6% in January at their lowest level ever recorded. High mortgage rates have continued to reduce affordability, new demand for cooling on the housing market.
The labor market has shown signs of softening, while weekly unemployment allegations jumped from 22,000 to 242,000, marking the highest level in more than two months.
GM stimulates the dividend
General Motors Co. rewarded shareholders with an increase in dividends and a new buyout plan. The automaker increased its quarterly dividend by three hundred to 15 cents per share, in force with its next payment in April. GM has also authorized a new share repurchase program of $ 6 billion, including an accelerated buyout initiative of $ 2 billion.
Benzinga is a financial company and a data company whose head office is in Detroit
