Wall Street struggled to find its footing last week as renewed concerns about financing the artificial intelligence boom overshadowed strong earnings.
An early rebound in AI-related names ran into a brick wall Thursday after Meta Platforms reported negative free cash flow for the first time since its 2012 initial public offering
The sell-off spread to more defensive areas of the market Friday, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 1% as oil prices surged on fears of renewed U.S. strikes against Iran. The Nasdaq only posted a slight loss as investors returned to beaten-down chip stocks and bought up cyber stocks. The S & P 500 on Friday was modestly lower.
For the week, the Dow was the big winner, rising 0.4%. The S & P 500 was down 0.5%, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.7%. Here’s a closer look at the three developments that drove last week’s market action.