The US stock markets showed a mixed picture on Friday. At the close of trading in New York, the Dow was calculated at 44,546 points, a decline of 0.4 percent compared to the previous trading day.
Just minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 had closed around 6,115 points, at par with the previous day’s close, while the Nasdaq 100, which tracks the technology-heavy Nasdaq, was calculated at around 22,115 points, a 0.4 percent gain.
Import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump remained the dominant theme on the markets, sparking irritation in the EU, where Trump was reported to consider value-added taxes in Europe as a target for tariffs. The EU Commission announced it would react immediately to any new US tariffs.
The European common currency was stronger on Friday evening, with one euro costing 1.0492 US dollars and one dollar worth 0.9531 euros.
Gold prices saw a significant decline, with one fine ounce being sold for 2,885 US dollars in the evening (-1.6 percent), equivalent to 88.40 euros per gram.
Meanwhile, the oil price fell, with a barrel of the North Sea’s Brent crude selling for 74.72 US dollars at around 22:00 Central European Time, a 30-cent or 0.4 percent decrease from the previous day’s close.