Wall Street has become just as volatile as the crypto market

Wall Street closed out the week with a mixed session on Friday, a volatility that has become increasingly similar to crypto market metrics. Major stock indexes tracked in different directions, with Nvidia climbing, Microsoft dipping, and the Nasdaq reaching a record-high close. 

Data from Trading Economics from yesterday shows the SP 500 closed the week on a low, trading at 6,114.63, down 0.01% from the previous session. Over the past four weeks, the index has shed 2.77%, but it remains up by 21.57% in the last 12 months.

Wall Street market volatility follows crypto market trend

The Nasdaq 100, which tracks the values of most tech stocks in the US, gained 0.4%, closing at a record 20,026.77 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.37% to settle at 44,546.08 points. 

Most of the 11 SP 500 sector indexes traded in the red, with seven of the total posting losses. Consumer staples led the decline at 1.16%, followed by healthcare, which dropped by a meager 1.11%.

Looking at individual stocks, Nvidia rose 2.6%, and Apple gained 1.3%. Microsoft saw a slight dip of 0.5%, while Amazon slipped 0.7%. Market data shows trading volume remained below the 20-session average, with 14.4 billion shares exchanged compared to the usual 15 billion.

On the other side of Wall Street, bond yields continued their downward trajectory, driven by a drop in US retail sales. Data released yesterday showed a sharper-than-expected decline of 0.9% in January, following a revised 0.7% increase in December. 

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell by 7 basis points to 4.44%, signaling cautious investor sentiment in response to the economic slowdown .

Still, there were some signs of relief for stock market investors this business week, as both the SP 500 and Nasdaq rose by 1.5% and 2.6%, respectively. The Dow added 0.5%, rounding out a week that saw heightened market volatility following President Trump’s executive order on reciprocal tariffs, which economists claim will create an environment of uncertainty.

Conversely, in the crypto market, the global market cap went up 2.8%, going from a weekly start of $3.15 trillion to a close of $3.36 trillion, according to Coingecko data . Bitcoin, the largest currency by market cap, also recorded an intraweek uptick of 0.7% to trade slightly above $97,500.

According to analysts from Global Markets Investor group, stock fragility, which measures a company’s daily share price movement relative to its recent volatility, has hit an all-time high among the 50 largest stocks in the SP 500. 

In a February 14 X post , the forum noted that the market is now more vulnerable than during the Dot-Com Bubble of the early 2000s. 

Stock fragility has hit an all-time high among the 50 largest stocks in the SP 500. Source: Bank of America

Even though the crypto market is currently bearish, most of the figures seen on Wall Street are mostly similar, if not more than price movements seen in the digital asset industry. The highs that were seen during the rally experienced in 2024 have mostly been erased, much like the crypto market.

Trump’s tariff directive could influence next week’s stock and crypto market reactions

Markets also responded to President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new economic directive. On Thursday, Trump instructed his economic team to develop plans for reciprocal tariffs on any country imposing taxes on US imports. 

“It’s all about Trump right now. All the other stuff is just noise,” Dennis Dick, a Canadian-based trader, told Reuters. “What everyone is focused on is, ‘What is Trump going to do next, and where are his tariff wars going?'”

This coming week, investors will closely monitor the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, scheduled for Wednesday, February 19. The notes could provide further insight into the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy stance. 

Several speeches by Federal Reserve officials are also expected from all the business days of the coming week.

Economists also expect housing data, including building permits, housing starts, and existing home sales, to be released. Both the US crypto and stock markets will focus on interest rate decisions from Australia, New Zealand, and China, and inflation reports from Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Japan. 

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