Stocks notch weekly losses, dollar up on uncertainty about Hassett's move to Fed

Market Overview - Gold prices slowed down after a strong demand for safe havens, falling more than 1% before recovering to $4,593.28 an ounce, still set for a second consecutive weekly gain [12][14] - Oil prices increased as traders covered short positions ahead of a long weekend in the U.S., with Brent crude settling at $64.13 a barrel, up 0.58%, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate at $59.44 a barrel, up 0.42% [12][14] Stock Market Performance - U.S. indexes experienced modest losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 83.11 points (0.17%) to 49,359.33, the S&P 500 down 4.46 points (0.06%) to 6,940.01, and the Nasdaq Composite down 14.63 points (0.06%) to 23,515.39 [2][4] - For the week, the S&P 500 declined 0.38%, the Nasdaq fell 0.66%, and the Dow decreased 0.29% [4] Sector Performance - The financial sector faced a downturn partly due to a proposal from Trump to cap credit card interest rates, despite strong quarterly earnings from major U.S. banks indicating positive signs for the broader economy [6] - Consumer staples, real estate, and utilities sectors performed better, being less susceptible to downturns [7] Investor Sentiment - Investors showed renewed enthusiasm for AI following strong results from chipmaker TSMC, with some shifting from heavyweight tech stocks to smaller cap stocks in search of value [6] - Market strategist Anthony Saglimbene noted that finishing the week around flat with the S&P 500 close to 7,000 was seen as a win by most investors [5] Federal Reserve and Economic Outlook - Concerns about central bank independence arose after Trump's comments regarding potential candidates for the Fed chair, with the odds of former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh becoming the next chair rising to 57% from 44% [8][9] - U.S. Treasury yields increased, with the yield on benchmark 10-year notes rising to 4.227% [9]