US markets experienced a downturn on Thursday. Trading ended in New York with the Dow Index calculating at 49,597 points, marking a decline of 0.6 percent compared to the previous trading day. Moments earlier, the broader S&P 500 hovered around 7,337 points down 0.4 percent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 registered approximately 28,564 points, down 0.1 percent. Although many companies listed in the S&P 500 had outperformed expectations during the current reporting season, the primary driver of the market has been artificial intelligence (AI). Following recent record highs, investors began pocketing profits.
In currency markets, the Euro strengthened slightly by Thursday evening, trading at 1.1764 US dollars per Euro, meaning the dollar cost 0.8501 Euro.
Commodities also saw significant movement. Gold prices gained substantially, with a fine ounce trading for $4,743 by the evening, representing a gain of 1.1 percent. Meanwhile, the price of oil dropped sharply. A barrel of North Sea grade Brent crude cost $98.33 on Thursday evening (against German time), which translates to 1,154 cents-or 10.5 percent less than closing prices on the previous business day.