US stock markets finished lower on Friday. Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 were 0.8% lower with the tech-focused Nasdaq underperforming again, dropping 0.9%.
Investors continue to tentatively balance the threat of inflation and tapering of bond purchases with the potentially more concerning chance that the US economy will slow significantly.
Cases rocket higher
The country is averaging over 150,000 new COVID cases a day yet only 53% of the population is fully vaccinated according to MarketWatch.
Despite mandates from the President all but forcing the public and private sector to require vaccinations, the threat of lockdowns and a further weakening in the ‘reopening’ trade stands out as a significant risk.
US markets post weekly loss
All three major indices were lower for the shorter four-day trading week with the Dow Jones weakest, down 2.2% due to its reliance on energy and financial companies.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both fell 1.7% with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) a major drag.
Apple court decision in
Shares in Apple fell over 3% on Friday after a US court delivered a mixed decision following Epic Games’ complaints about the restrictions placed around the tech giant’s App Store.
The decision removes restrictions on how app developers can be paid but the App Store will remain the only way apps can be downloaded onto Apple phones.
The decision comes ahead of Apple’s big September product event this week, with the latest iPhone set to be unveiled.
US stock market movers
Here’s how other popular US stocks closed out the week on Friday.
- Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) up 34.4%
- Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) up 6.8%
- Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) up 1.9%
- Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) down 4.4%
- Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) down 4.7%
- Kroger (NYSE: KR) down 7.5%
Despite the negative lead from US markets, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is set to open broadly flat on Monday. To find out the latest in Aussie markets, check out Rask Media’s ASX 200 morning report.