Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Recover Slightly, Yet Close the Week with Steep Declines

U.S. stocks rose on Friday, ending a volatile session in positive territory as hopes for a December interest rate cut strengthened. Meanwhile, bitcoin (BTC-USD) extended its steep decline during a punishing period for cryptocurrencies.

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) and S&P 500 (^GSPC) each gained around 0.9% to 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed about 1.1%, or nearly 500 points. Markets turned higher after New York Fed President John Williams signaled that a rate cut could be possible “in the near term,” pushing the odds of a December cut to 75%, up from roughly 40% the previous day. His comments come as the Fed remains sharply divided heading into its final 2025 meeting.

Despite Friday’s rebound, stocks still finished the week lower as concerns over a potential AI-driven bubble persisted. Even Nvidia’s (NVDA) strong earnings failed to ease those fears, with the chipmaker closing down almost 1% on Friday.

All major U.S. indices logged weekly declines: the S&P 500 fell nearly 2%, and the Nasdaq dropped close to 3%, both settling at their lowest levels since September after Thursday’s sell-off.

Cryptocurrencies also remained under pressure. Bitcoin slid further on Friday, hitting lows near $82,000, extending its drop from record highs reached just over a month ago, and is now on track for its worst monthly performance since the 2022 crypto crash.