Friday was a lackluster session on Wall Street, with major U.S. averages lingering in negative territory at midday trading in New York. This session coincided with the simultaneous expiration of a large volume of options and futures contracts, commonly referred to as “triple witching.”

However, rather than a sharp spike in volatility, stocks edged only slightly lower, failing to trigger a rise in the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX).

Investor sentiment remained defensive, with 10 out of 11 sectors of the S&P 500 falling, while utilities were the only sector to post a positive performance.

Dovish remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller indicated that he expects “very low” August Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data.

Waller also hinted at the possibility of a 25 basis point rate cut in the next meeting or two if the data continues to come in as expected, with a stronger size of cut if the labor market weakens and inflation softens more rapidly.

Waller's comments sent gold surging past $2,600 per ounce, marking new all-time highs.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) remained stable at $63,000.

Friday’s Performance In Major U.S. Indices, ETFs

According to Benzinga Pro data:

Friday’s Stock Movers

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Wall Street illustration created using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.