Stock indices open higher to end the bearish week; Fed’s Williams signals support for December rate cuts; Bitcoin declines further

Major stock indices opened higher to end a week that saw selling in major stock indices on concerns about artificial intelligence spending and valuations of major technology companies, while the price of Bitcoin continued to decline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4% at the bell after the blue-chip index lost an early 700-point advance on Thursday to close down about 400 points, or 0.8%. The Nasdaq rose 0.3% after the tech-heavy index fell 2.2% yesterday, while the S&P 500 rose 0.4% after the benchmark index finished 1.6% lower in the previous session.

Stock futures were mostly pointing lower until New York Fed President John Williams signaled in prepared remarks for a conference in Chile that he could support an additional interest rate cut by the central bank “in the near term,” according to reports.

However, all three indexes were poised to close the week sharply lower, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting their biggest weekly losses since April.

Yesterday, shares sold off, with Nvidia (NVDA) shares falling 3.2% despite the AI ​​darling reporting impressive third-quarter results and issuing rosy guidance after the bell on Wednesday. Shares of the world’s most valuable company fell 0.3% at the bell.

Bitcoin continued its recent decline amid risk-off sentiment, falling to around $80,600 – its lowest level since April 11 – from an overnight high of more than $88,000. The largest cryptocurrency recently traded at around $83,500.

The yield on 10-year Treasury bonds fell to 4.06% from Thursday’s close of 4.10%. Yields fell yesterday after a mixed US jobs report that did little to resolve the Federal Reserve’s dilemma over whether to cut its key interest rate in December.

The US dollar index, which measures the dollar’s performance against a basket of foreign currencies, rose to 100.29. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the US oil benchmark, fell nearly 2% to $57.90 a barrel. Gold futures rose to $4,070 an ounce.

One bright spot on Thursday was Walmart (WMT), whose shares jumped 6.5% to lead the S&P 500 and Dow after it reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its financial outlook for 2026. Shares of the world’s largest retailer, which also announced it would transition its Nasdaq stock listing from the New York Stock Exchange, rose 0.4% at the bell.

In other corporate news, shares of Gap (GAP), Intuit (INTU), and Ross Stores (ROST) rose 5.5%, 4.5%, and 3.5%, respectively, after each reporting earnings after Thursday’s close. BJ Wholesale Club (BJ) shares fell 2% even though it reported higher earnings and raised its full-year revised earnings forecast before the bell.