The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined during its recent trading at the intraday levels, to break a series of gains that continued for five consecutive sessions. It recorded losses in Friday’s trading by -0.43%, to lose about -137.61 points and settled at the end of trading at the level of 31,899.30. This is after rising in trading Thursday, by 0.51%. During the past week, the index rose by 1.95%, which is the best weekly performance of the index since June 24.
All eyes are on the Federal Reserve meeting and US Q2 GDP data next week, and while the US Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points to curb hyperinflation, the GDP data is likely to be negative again.
Friday’s survey showed that business activity in the United States contracted for the first time in nearly two years in July, deepening concerns about an economy suffering from sagging growth due to rising inflation and rising interest rates as well as eroding consumer confidence.