Wall Street’s main indexes slipped, impacted by declines in healthcare and energy stocks, but the Nasdaq pared some losses in the afternoon. Investors evaluated delayed economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook for next year.
Onchain data shows institutions and high-net-worth individuals are still accumulating BTC. Bitcoin sharks accumulated aggressively at 2012-level speeds in the past week, signaling a dip-buying trend. Heavy selling by long-term whales continued to cap upside, keeping near-term downside risks elevated.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its long-awaited combined employment reports for October and November, but a number of key details will be missing after the government shutdown prevented data collection, including October’s unemployment rate, resulting in the first-ever gap in that critical data series.
Nvidia said it acquired AI software firm SchedMD, as the chip designer doubles down on open-source technology and steps up investments in the artificial intelligence ecosystem to fend off rising competition.
The pound held steady ahead of a string of UK data that could help cement expectations for a Bank of England rate cut later in the week. Markets show traders are almost fully pricing in a rate cut on Thursday, when the BoE meets, and traders expect another cut by the middle of 2026.
Oil prices closed lower on Friday, marking a 4% weekly decline as a supply glut and a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal outweighed worries about any impact from the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker near Venezuela.
