Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk. Here is where things stand.
Equities are finishing the week on a mixed note, with the S&P five hundred slipping fractionally and the Dow off by roughly one percent, while the Nasdaq is holding modest gains. Oil weakness and lingering anxiety around the AI trade are keeping sentiment cautious heading into the weekend close.
On the currency and rates side, the dollar index is nudging higher, finding support from a four basis point rise in the ten-year Treasury yield. Stronger-than-expected manufacturing PMI and consumer sentiment data gave the greenback additional lift, while ongoing Houthi tensions in the Middle East are adding a layer of safe-haven demand into the mix.
Meanwhile, the trade picture with Canada is showing a small but meaningful crack in the tariff wall. Senator Susan Collins announced the United States will issue exemptions on several categories of Canadian imports, a development that carries particular political weight in Maine, where Collins faces headwinds as the broader trade war shapes her Senate race.
That is the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
