remained in downturn territory, reflecting lingering investor worries about an industry being buffeted by increasing U.S. regulatory scrutiny, and inflation and monetary policy concerns.
The main equity indexes were trading sideways after seesawing earlier in the day with the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite up slightly but the S&P 500, which has a hefty technology component, down a smidgen. Stocks have surged six consecutive days with the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average all recently hitting 2023 highs. Gold and U.S. Treasury yields both ticked up.
In a speech Friday, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated that the central bank remained concerned about inflation, even as it has weathered criticism that its hawkishness precipitated a March crisis in the banking sector. Earlier this week, the Fed halted a 14-month diet of rate hikes that have often weighed heavily on crypto and other asset markets.
“The Fed's job is to use monetary policy to achieve its dual mandate, and right now that means raising rates to fight inflation,” Waller said at an economics conference in Norway. “It is the job of bank leaders to deal with interest rate risk, and nearly all bank leaders have done exactly that. I do not support altering the stance of monetary policy over worries of ineffectual management at a few banks.