Wall Street ends flat as Intel plunges, gold climbs to record

The U.S. stock market drifted through mixed trading Friday as tariff relief and falling inflation expectations offered brief respite from a volatile week. The S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1%, notching a second straight week with modest losses. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 285 points, or 0.6%.

Chip company Intel weighed on the market, tumbling 17% after reporting better fourth-quarter results than expected but issuing a first-quarter forecast that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Gold, meanwhile, set another record, nearing $5,000 per ounce — a signal of investor nervousness despite the week’s market steadying.

The trading reflected the week’s wide swings between tariff threats and negotiations, between inflation fears and data suggesting those fears may be easing. The shifts underscore the fragility of investor confidence in a market that has climbed to records while navigating geopolitical uncertainty.

Intel’s Earnings Miss Weighs on Markets

Intel’s tumble centered on its outlook for the first three months of 2026. Chief Financial Officer David Zinsner said shortages of supplies are affecting the entire industry, and Intel expects available supply to hit a bottom early this year before improving in the spring and beyond. Chief Executive Lip-Bu Tan highlighted the company’s opportunities in the artificial-intelligence era. But investors, spooked by the weak guidance, had already moved on.

The majority of stocks on Wall Street fell Friday, with Intel’s drop overshadowing gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 rose 2.26 points to 6,915.61. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 285.30 to 49,098.71. The Nasdaq composite rose 65.22 to 23,501.24.

Corporate Deals and Dealmaking

Capital One Financial sank 7.6% after reporting weaker profit than analysts expected. The company said it was buying Brex, which helps businesses issue corporate credit cards, for $5.15 billion in cash and stock.

On the winning side, CSX climbed 2.4% despite reporting a weaker profit than analysts expected, with some analysts highlighting the railroad’s forecast for improved operating-profit retention in 2026. Clorox gained 1.1% after announcing it was buying GOJO Industries, the maker of Purell, for $2.25 billion in cash.

Tariffs, Currencies, and Gold

The week’s tariff volatility played out across the bond market and currency markets. The U.S. dollar’s value fell against the Japanese yen, Swiss franc and other currencies after President Donald Trump threatened 10% tariffs on European countries for opposing his push to own Greenland. Those threats sent shockwaves through global markets early in the week.

On Wednesday, Trump announced “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland” and called off the tariffs, though few details are available about it. That relief helped calm the currency markets, but movements in the bond market remained relatively modest.

Gold’s price rose to another record Friday and neared $5,000 per ounce — a signal that investors are still looking for something safer to own. Gold is already up nearly 15% for the year so far, suggesting sustained demand for protection against uncertainty.

Inflation Expectations and Global Markets

A survey of U.S. consumers said expectations for inflation in the upcoming year improved to 4%, according to the University of Michigan’s survey. That’s the lowest such reading in a year, though it remains well above the 2% inflation that the Federal Reserve targets. That kind of improvement could help avoid the worst-case scenario the Fed has been determined to prevent: one where expectations for high inflation trigger a vicious cycle of behavior that only worsens inflation.

Overall sentiment among U.S. consumers was also stronger than economists expected, which could help keep them spending and the U.S. economy humming. A separate preliminary report from S&P Global suggested growth is continuing for U.S. business activity.

The Fed’s next chance to move the short-term interest rate it controls comes Wednesday, but the widespread expectation is that it will hold steady. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.23% from 4.26% late Thursday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe after rising across much of Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.3% after the Bank of Japan kept its key interest rate unchanged, as many investors expected. The central bank has been slowly pulling its policy rate higher from below zero and had raised it to 0.75% in December.

Global markets have calmed after a quick surge in long-term government bond yields in Japan early in the week disrupted trading. The move higher came on concerns that Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi might make fiscal moves that would add heavily to the government’s already substantial debt.