Wall Street saw little change from its midday performance to end the week. The Dow shed 165 points, the Nasdaq finished solidly in the black, and the S&P 500 ended flat after coming close to its record high. All three major indexes logged weekly wins, the Nasdaq's best since early December. Meanwhile, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) fell for a third straight session, marking its first weekly decline in three.

Gains were fueled by easing inflation concerns and a declining 10-year Treasury yield, which dropped more than 5 basis points to 4.472%. Investor sentiment also improved as clarity on Trump’s tariff plans helped offset a steeper-than-expected 0.9% decline in January retail sales.

OIL POSTS FIRST WEEKLY GAIN IN A MONTH

Oil prices posted their first weekly gain in a month, supported by U.S. efforts to curb Iranian oil exports and President Trump’s decision to hold off on imposing reciprocal tariffs on trading partners. For today though, March-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude shed 55 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $70.74 per barrel for the session. Black gold added around 1% for the week.

Meanwhile, gold prices dipped as traders took profits, but the precious metal secured a seventh straight weekly gain, up 0.8% for the week. The contract for February delivery last seen trading 1.5% lower at $2,900.70 an ounce.

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