Oil Prices Drop as Wall Street Heads for Second Straight Weekly Loss
Stocks on Wall Street were volatile on Friday as crude oil prices dropped for the first time in a week, but the broader market is still expected to end the week in the red.
The S&P 500 was largely unchanged, putting it on track for its second consecutive weekly loss since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 167 points, or 0.3%, by 2:51 p.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq fell 0.6% due to significant losses from companies like Micron Technology and Nvidia.
The decline in oil prices was a welcome relief for investors, as it could help ease inflation concerns. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 4.2% to $96.51 after being above $100 on Thursday.
The Federal Reserve's interest rate policy is also being closely watched, with a potential rate hike by the end of the year expected by Wall Street, according to CME FedWatch.