The U.S. stock markets fell sharply on Friday. By the close in New York the Dow was at 48,978 points, a drop of 1.1 % from the previous day. A few minutes earlier, the broader S&P 500 traded near 6,879 points, down 0.4 %, and the Nasdaq 100 was around 24,960 points, down 0.3 %.
Netflix shares surged that day after the streaming giant withdrew from a dispute with Paramount Skydance over a planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. Because the merger fell through, Netflix was awarded a massive compensation fee. Unlike Netflix, Paramount seeks to take over the entire conglomerate-including CNN-rather than just its film and streaming operations. This move has drawn criticism in the United States, where the concentration of media ownership is seen as politically sensitive, with the company’s leadership reportedly closely aligned with former President Donald Trump.
On the currency front, the euro strengthened in the evening: one euro bought 1.1816 USD (equivalently, one USD was 0.8463 euros).
Precious metals and energy also moved: Gold rose to $5,259 per ounce (a 1.5 % gain), translating to €143.10 per gram. Meanwhile, Brent crude climbed to $73.00 per barrel by 10 p.m. German time, up 3.1 % from the previous closing price.