Market Overview

On Friday, U.S. stock indexes opened lower but ended higher, with all major indexes except small-cap stocks posting gains, wrapping up the most volatile week of the year. $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ briefly erased its weekly loss but ended down slightly by 0.04% for the week, while $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ and $Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC.US)$ fell 0.6% and 0.2% respectively over the week. The "fear index" $CBOE Volatility S&P 500 Index (.VIX.US)$ dropped over 14%, approaching 20 and turning negative for the week. Recession fears eased, and attention shifted to the upcoming U.S. inflation data.

The semiconductor index fell 1.8% before closing down 0.4%, but it gained 2.2% for the week. The China Concept Stocks Index dropped 1.5% before closing down about 1%, with a weekly gain of 3.6%. $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ was the only member of the "Tech Seven Sisters" to decline on Friday, falling 2.3% for the week, while $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ dropped 3.7% for the week.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield ended a three-day rise, falling below 4%, but it rose more than 15 basis points for the week, while the 2-year yield gained 17 basis points for the week, fully erasing the declines following the poor nonfarm payrolls report earlier in August.

Eased recession concerns and heightened Middle East tensions boosted oil prices for a fourth consecutive day to their highest since July 31. U.S. crude rose 4.5% for the week, while Brent crude gained 3.7% for the week. Spot gold fell 0.6% for the week, marking its biggest weekly drop in two months.

The U.S. dollar index hovered near its weekly high, slightly declining for the week. The yen ended a three-day losing streak, rising on Friday but falling slightly for the week, marking its first weekly decline in six weeks. The offshore yuan briefly rose by 210 points or 0.3% to break above 7.17 per dollar, ending the week down 0.2%. Bitcoin fell over 1%, dropping below $61,000, while Ethereum fell 3%, dropping below $2,600, with both cryptocurrencies posting weekly declines.