U.S. stocks ended the week on a softer note Friday, with the major indexes retreating from recent records even as broader market gauges pointed to a resilient run for equities so far in 2026.
The S&P 500 closed at 7,711.76, down 0.25% on the day but still up 0.77% over the past five trading sessions and 12.65% year to date. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.52% Friday while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was roughly flat, slipping 0.02%. Small-cap stocks lagged, with the Russell 2000 down 1.39% on the day.
Volatility remained subdued despite the pullback, with the CBOE Volatility Index down 0.55% Friday and off more than 27% over the past six months, suggesting investors have largely shrugged off recent turbulence.
Sector performance was mixed. Technology stocks slid 1.55% Friday even as the sector remains up nearly 29% for the year, driven in large part by continued enthusiasm around artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending. Consumer discretionary and communication services shares outperformed, rising 1.15% and 1.42% respectively, while utilities and industrials lagged.
In commodities, gold futures tumbled 2.88% Friday to $4,529.90 an ounce, one of the sharpest daily declines for the metal in recent months, though prices remain up more than 28% over the past year. Silver fell even further, down 3.49% on the day. Crude oil was little changed, with West Texas Intermediate slipping 0.16% to $83.40 a barrel, while natural gas eased slightly.
Treasury yields moved broadly higher across the curve. The 10-year yield rose to 4.73%, up more than a percentage point on a one-day percentage basis, while the 2-year yield climbed to 4.34%. Longer-dated yields also edged up, with the 30-year at 5.22%.
Overseas, European markets were broadly positive Friday, with Germany’s DAX up 0.60% and Austria’s ATX rising 1.65%, extending a strong run that has pushed the index up more than 27% over the past year. Asian markets were mixed: Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.41% and remains up more than 55% over the past year on continued momentum in Japanese equities, while South Korea’s KOSPI fell 1.79% Friday despite a blistering 113% one-year gain.
Cryptocurrencies were little changed on the day, with bitcoin slipping 0.21% to $77,671.73, though the token remains down more than 28% over the past year amid a volatile stretch for digital assets.
