US benchmark equity indexes experienced declines on Friday, driven primarily by a downturn in prominent technology stocks. Shares of the semiconductor manufacturing powerhouse Nvidia dropped by 2%, marking the most significant loss on the Dow Jones index. This decline was closely followed by notable decreases in stock values for giants such as Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Apple, all of which faced similar downturns that day. On the Nasdaq exchange, Tesla stood out with the largest drop, registering a 5% decline in its share price.
Recent data released by the US Census Bureau unveiled an increase in the advance international trade in goods deficit, now at $102.86 billion for November, compared to $98.26 billion in October. This increase surpassed the expected $101.2 billion deficit, as surveyed by Bloomberg. Notably, exports exhibited a rise of 4.4% in October, while imports also saw a corresponding increase of 4.5%.
In a comprehensive market and economic outlook report for 2025, D.A. Davidson stated that it does not foresee a significant weakening of economic conditions as the new year approaches. This optimistic perspective suggests that equities may have the potential for gains despite existing market challenges. However, D.A.
Davidson cautioned about the likelihood of volatility. “We should expect fluctuations and recognize that equity market corrections are commonplace,” the firm stated. “We continue to advocate for a broadly diversified portfolio across multiple sectors and emphasize the importance of frequent rebalancing.” On the commodities front, February West Texas Intermediate crude oil saw an increase, closing up by $0.56, settling at $70.18 per barrel.
Similarly, February Brent crude, renowned as the global benchmark, was last observed up by $0.50, reaching a price of $73.77, supported by reports of US crude oil stock levels falling beyond anticipations. In corporate developments, UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys have extended the deadline for finalizing their $3.3 billion merger agreement amidst scrutiny from the US Department of Justice regarding the implications of the deal.
Following the news, Amedisys shares saw a rise of 4.7%, while shares of UnitedHealth experienced a modest decline of 0.2%..