US stocks wavered on Friday as concerns over a global IT outage eased, with Wall Street seeking recovery from a recent sell-off that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average snap a winning streak and a tech rout continue.
The Dow (^DJI) slipped 0.2%, following a drop of over 1% in the blue-chip index. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) remained near the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) saw a slight increase.
Stocks are facing weekly losses after a turbulent few sessions that saw a decline in tech stocks, particularly AI-focused chip companies. Investors are shifting away from the tech giants that have been driving the recent rally and moving towards small-cap stocks, which some believe will benefit more from potential interest rate cuts.
Early on Friday, investors were assessing the impact of an “unprecedented” computer system failure that affected various industries, including airlines, banks, telecoms, and media companies. However, concerns eased after cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike (CRWD) announced that a fix was in place for the glitch, which was caused by a faulty update affecting Microsoft-based systems.
CrowdStrike shares initially plunged as much as 20% as the outage spread, but later recovered to around a 12% loss at the opening bell. Shares of Microsoft, which was also dealing with issues in its Azure cloud services, were slightly lower but showing signs of recovery.
In the midst of these developments, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made headlines by stating in his nomination speech that he would “end the electric vehicle mandate on day one.” This statement has sparked discussions about the potential impact of a “Trump trade” on the market if he were to return to the White House.
As the market continues to navigate through these uncertainties, stay tuned for more updates on the latest developments in the financial world.
