4:10pm: Tech stocks flop
A sell-off in tech stocks saw the Nasdaq finish 2% lower at 15,282 points.
Amid the broader sell-off, Arm plunged 17% and Nvidia was down 10%, while disappointing earnings saw Netflix shed 9.1% at $555.
The S&P 500 also saw a 0.9% loss, dipping back below 5,000 to 4,967 points.
The Dow Jones, on the other hand, added 0.6% at 37,986 points.
"Disappointing US earnings, hawkish Fed remarks and a retaliatory Israel missile strike on Iran led to a third straight weekly loss for most stock indices,” IG senior market analyst Axel Rudolph commented.
12:10pm: S&P 500 extends losing streak
Markets were predominantly lower as the sell-off in Big Tech stocks persisted on Friday, leading the S&P 500 below the 5,000 mark.
At noon, the S&P 500 fell by approximately 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite saw a more significant decline of over 1%. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to edge up by 0.4%.
This downward movement followed five consecutive losing days for the S&P 500, triggered by disappointing earnings from Netflix. The tech sector took a hit, with prominent companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Amazon all witnessing declines.
Despite some recovery from earlier market shocks, ongoing uncertainties surrounding Federal Reserve interest-rate policies and geopolitical tensions contributed to investor caution.
Notable earnings reports from Procter & Gamble, which raised its profit forecast, and American Express, which posted a profit beat, added to the market dynamics.
9.48am: Wall Street sees mixed start
The Dow Jones opened 76 points higher on Friday, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 slipped following news Israel had launched a strike against Iran overnight.
At 15,539, the Nasdaq was down 62 points, while the S&P 500 retreated 4 points to 5,007.
Stocks had looked to take a hit globally in the wake of the attack, which came after Iran struck Israel last week.
Reassurances from local intelligence and Iranian media that an immediate response was unlikely appeared to calm markets later though, sending oil and gold prices down following a spike earlier on.
Among companies, American Express Co jumped 3% in early trading after surpassing first-quarter profit expectations on increased spending among its affluent customer base.
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) soared 9% in the meantime on news Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY) was mulling launching a bid for the movie studio.
Falling though was Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX, ETR:NFC), by 7%, after the streaming giant’s Thursday earnings failed to impress, with second-quarter guidance below market expectations.
6.59am: Muted start expected on Wall Street
Pre-market trading had Wall Street facing falls on Friday morning after news broke that Israel launched an attack against Iran overnight.
Futures had the Nasdaq down 122 points at 17,425, the Dow Jones falling 138 points to 37,869 and the S&P 500 off 22 points at 5,026 before Friday’s opening bell.
Israel targeted the Iranian city of Isfahan overnight, according to US sources, with the latter claiming three drones were destroyed in the attack.
Iran has since claimed that no missile landed in its territory, with the region housing several military sites, including nuclear facilities which were reportedly undamaged.
The strike came after Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel last week with a response threatened earlier this week.
Oil and gold prices both jumped by 4.4% and 1.6% respectively in a matter of hours on the news, before scaling back later on.
According to analysts, dovish comments from Federal Reserve Neel Kashkari, who signalled base rate cuts may only come in 2025, were also adding further pressure to markets on Friday.
“Unfortunately, the data seen over the past two months has done little to embolden the doves,” Scope Market’s Joshua Mahony said.
“Federal Reserve has been left with little choice but to temper expectations despite having laid out a blueprint for three 2024 cuts in the March dot plot.”