Stocks mixed after jittery week, gold eases, dollar pauses

Major Wall Street indexes sagged on Friday, although chipmakers gained after a jittery week, while gold slowed and the dollar paused near a six-week high as traders bet the Federal Reserve would wait before cutting interest rates.

Gold slowed going into the weekend after a roaring ride on safe haven demand. Oil prices, however, rose as the market continued to fret about supply risks, even after U.S. President Donald Trump dialed down talk of intervening to address a government crackdown on protests in.

Just two full trading weeks into 2026, investors have been presented with a global maelstrom including Trump’s intervention in Venezuela, stated desire to take over Greenland, and threat to indict Fed chair Jerome Powell, which raised worries about central bank independence.

Stock traders have nonetheless jumped back into the AI trade after strong results from chipmaker, even as some buyers switch out of heavyweight tech names into smaller cap stocks in the hunt for value.

A proposed one-year cap on credit card interest rates weighed on lenders’ shares and other markets during the week, despite strong quarterly showings from big U.S. banks which gave some positive signs for the broader economy.

“Banks set up the week nicely to say the consumer is still spending and there’s nothing to worry about yet. We will see if that is being translated into more consumption,” said Jason Barsema, president of Halo Investing.

SHOT IN THE ARM FOR AI

The S&P 500 was down 0.12% on Friday at 6,936.04 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.22% to 23,477.94.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.16% lower at 49,363.46, after punching out a fresh record close on Monday. U.S. stocks overall were set for modest weekly losses.

A trade deal by the U.S. and Taiwan on Thursday cuts tariffs on many of the semiconductor powerhouse’s exports, and direct investments towards the U.S. technology industry. This risks infuriating China, but could bode well for businesses in the supply chain.

“I guess with the TSMC report yesterday being pretty solid and sounding optimistic, it certainly provided a much-needed shot in the arm for those AI names which have been struggling on Wall Street in recent months,” Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday will keep U.S. markets shut on Monday, but the earnings season romps along next week with results due from Netflix , Johnson & Johnson and Intel.

DOLLAR AT HIGH, TRADERS WATCH YEN

The dollar oscillated between stronger and weaker positioning against the euro after reaching a six-week high on Thursday, but was poised for a third consecutive weekly gain.

Some of the dollar enthusiasm came from data showing unexpected strength in the U.S. labor market, which delayed the prospect of further interest rate cuts.

Markets are betting on a 20% chance of a Fed rate cut in March, down from roughly 50% a month ago .

Measured against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, the dollar rose 0.05% to 99.39, with the euro down 0.09% at $1.1595.

Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama put traders on alert for currency intervention when she would not rule out any options to counter weakness in the yen, including intervention with the United States.

The yen strengthened 0.33% to 158.13 per dollar.

COMMODITIES CALMER

Oil prices rose slightly as supply risks remained in focus but gains were short of the multi-month highs registered earlier in the week when the market digested the prospect of a U.S. military strike against Iran.

U.S. crude rose 0.95% to $59.75 a barrel and Brent rose to $64.37 per barrel, up 0.96% on the day.

Analysts expect higher oil supply this year, which could put a cap on price rises.

Gold gave up its spot as the biggest trade in town, falling 1.05% to $4,566.36 an ounce.

Geopolitical and economic uncertainty are generally positive for gold, as investors seek safe havens. It is also priced in dollars, meaning strength in the U.S. currency makes it more expensive for overseas buyers.