Most US equities end in red, post weekly losses

Most US stocks ended Friday in the negative territory, recording weekly losses as investors are waiting amid geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and hopes that talks between European diplomats and Iran will help ease the situation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average index added 0.10%, or 35 points, to 42,206, but posted a weekly drop of 1.77%.

The S&P 500 edged down 0.22%, or 13 points, to 5,966, deepening its weekly losses to 1.28%. The Nasdaq Composite eased 0.51%, or 98 points, to 19,447, shedding about 1.10% this week.

Looking at European markets, the STOXX Europe 600 index gained 0.13% to 536. points; however, a weekly loss of 1.54% was recorded.

The FTSE index shed 0.20% to 8,774 points, while Germany’s DAX index settled ended at 23.350 points, jumping 1.27%. CAC rose 0.48% to 7,589 points.

In Japan, the Nikkei index ended the session 0.20% lower at 38,403 points, while its broader counterpart TOPIX fell by 0.75% to 2,771 points. Both indices posted weekly rises of 1.50% and 0.55%, respectively.

Brent crude futures for August delivery fell by 2.33%, or $1.84, to $77.01 a barrel. Despite the daily loss, Brent crude posted a weekly gain of 3.74%.

US WTI crude futures for July delivery — which expired today — edged down by 0.28%, or 21 cents, to $74.93 a barrel, but recorded a weekly gain of 2.70%. The more actively traded August WTI contract dropped by 0.46%, or 34 cents, to settle at $73.84 a barrel.

European countries and Iran launched a new round of talks in Switzerland on Friday, focused on Tehran's nuclear program and ways to resolve its ongoing military conflict with Israel.

As for gold, futures for August delivery declined by 0.66%, or $22.4, to $3,385.70 an ounce, posting a weekly drop of 1.94%.