Nasdaq Lags Amid AI Spending Concerns, US Services Sector Accelerates, New Tariffs Imposed

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite experienced a decline as investors expressed worries about substantial spending on artificial intelligence and sold off chip stocks. Despite this, falling crude oil futures offered some support to Wall Street. Data released on Friday indicated an acceleration in the U.S. services sector activity during July, partly attributed to spending around the FIFA World Cup and Independence Day. Conversely, growth in the manufacturing sector eased to its slowest pace since March. Additionally, the Trump administration imposed new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, citing lax enforcement of forced-labor bans, as a temporary 10% global tariff expired.