S&P 500 futures retreated slightly after hitting multiple record highs in the previous week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up as megacap stocks including Apple, Microsoft and Nvidia rose between 0.2% and 0.6%. The blue-chip Dow was the only one of the three major indexes to post weekly declines on Friday, while the Nasdaq notched its fifth consecutive record closing high and posted gains of 3.2% for the week. Some investors, however, have been concerned about the sustainability of the equity rally as megacap growth and technology stocks were behind most of Wall Street's gains this year.
As the Israel-Hamas war continues, negotiations are apparently stalled to secure the release of hostages taken by the terrorist organization, and Israeli forces continue to launch incursions in the southern Gazan town of Rafah ahead of a possible large-scale invasion. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government’s security cabinet will now make decisions about the war against Hamas, an Israel official told ABC News.
Mohammad Farooq had planned to ‘kill as many nurses as possible’ when he was arrested outside St James’s Hospital in Leeds, jurors were told.