Bitcoin’s advance helped lift cryptocurrency-linked equities on Friday, even as broader US markets absorbed the Federal Reserve’s first interest-rate hike in three years, persistent pressure from Treasury yields near 5% and oil prices above $100 a barrel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 114.74 points, or 0.22%, at 51,663.30, while the S&P 500 added 11.53 points, or 0.12%, to 7,647.19. The Nasdaq Composite rose 92.72 points, or 0.35%, to 26,511.01. The mixed session followed Thursday’s strong rebound, when the Dow gained 316.14 points, the S&P 500 rose 1.14%, and the Nasdaq jumped 1.69%.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points this week, taking the target range to 3.75% to 4.00%. Markets are now pricing in more than a 50% probability of another rate increase at the central bank’s October meeting, up from 42.5% a week earlier and 7.2% a month earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly climbed back above 5% before settling near 4.998%, after reaching its highest level since July 2007 earlier in the week.
Oil remained a key inflation concern. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.58% to settle at $100.30 a barrel, while Brent crude declined 0.91% to $103.87. Crude eased from session highs after China, at Saudi Arabia’s request, asked Iran to limit attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi oil infrastructure. Elevated oil prices have also pushed US diesel prices to record levels, adding to costs across farming and shipping.
In corporate news, Berkshire Hathaway announced that Warren Buffett is stepping down as chairman and will become chairman emeritus, with his son Howard Buffett taking over as chairman. Buffett has led Berkshire since 1965, delivering a 19.7% compounded annual return, roughly double the S&P 500’s return over that period. Netflix shares fell more than 5% after Wells Fargo downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight and cut its price target to $57 from $80. Intel rose 0.6% to $109.54 on reports of exploratory talks with SK Hynix about manufacturing memory chips in the US, possibly through Intel’s planned Ohio fab. IREN gained about 2.6% after Northland Capital initiated coverage, adding it to a list of AI-infrastructure names drawing fresh Wall Street attention.
Cryptocurrency-linked stocks including Coinbase, Strategy and Robinhood surged as Bitcoin prices jumped. The quarterly expiration of stock and index derivatives, known as triple witching, contributed to late-session volatility. Gold futures rose 0.41% to $4,356.69 an ounce, while silver futures jumped 1.89% to $66.42 an ounce. In Asia, chipmakers including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix rallied following a bullish outlook from Nvidia.
