Technology stocks dragged US equity markets lower amid fresh concerns that interest rates could remain elevated for some time, and with investors eyeing the latest inflation data next week - Dow edged +58-points or +0.17% higher. Intel Corp rallied +3.24% to US$38.18, the chipmaker’s highest close since 28 July, 2022 and logging it ninth consecutive session gain – the stocks’ longest winning streak since 4 December, 2020 which has seen the company’s shares climb ~17.2%. Walt Disney Co (down -0.51%) fell for a sixth straight session – the longest losing streak in almost a year - as the impasse with Charter Communications Inc (-0.71%) over the future of their distribution deal drags on. Charter said that cable providers and media companies need a fundamentally new arrangement in the streaming era, while Disney said Charter “claims to value our direct-to-consumer services” yet wants access to them for free. Disney has fallen ~61% from its pandemic-era high of US$201.91 set in March 2021.
