The stock fell sharply in afternoon Wall Street trading on Friday, putting the market on track for another week of heavy losses.
The latest news to disappoint traders comes from corporate giants FedEx and General Electric, warning that the downturn in the economy is hurting their businesses.
The S&P 500 was down 1.2% at 2:41pm ET. The benchmark index fell 5.3% this week, but much of that loss was due to him crashing 4.3% on Tuesday following a surprisingly hot inflation report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 258 points (0.8%) to 30,703 and the Nasdaq fell 1.5%. Both are well on their way to steep weekly losses.
Technology stocks, retailers and industrial companies suffered the biggest losses.
Parcel delivery service FedEx slid 21.8%, on track for record-high daily sales after warning investors that first-quarter earnings are likely to fall short of forecasts as business slows progressing. In addition, stores and corporate offices are closing, and the business environment is expected to deteriorate further.
Industrial giant General Electric Corp fell 4.7% after its chief financial officer said it was still bogged down by supply chain problems pushing up costs.
Adobe had the biggest loss among tech stocks, down 4.6%.
Household goods makers, usually considered low-risk investments, have held up better than others in the market. Campbell’s Soup He rose 1%.
Small business stocks also fell, with the Russell 2000 index down 2.2%.
Worrying corporate updates hit a market already in jeopardy due to stubbornly high inflation and the higher interest rates being used to combat it, slowing the economy.
The US Federal Reserve (Fed) is raising interest rates aggressively to keep inflation at a 40-year high, but it could put the brakes on too much and send the economy into recession. There is a concern that The central bank has already raised rates four times this year, and economists expect another jumbo three-quarter point hike at next week’s Fed summit.
Rising interest rates tend to weigh on stocks, especially the more expensive tech sectors. Tech stocks in the S&P 500 are down more than 26% over the year, with telecommunications companies down nearly 35% of him. These are the worst performing sectors within the benchmark index so far this year.
The housing sector has also been hit by rising interest rates. Average long-term mortgage rates in the US have topped 6% for the first time since the 2008 housing crash. Rising interest rates could make an already tight housing market even more expensive for homebuyers.
Prices for almost everything but gas are still rising, the job market is still overheating, and consumers are continuing to spend, all of which are pushing Fed officials to stock up on ammunition, according to a report from the government this week. and the economy can withstand further rate hikes. .
“The market is looking at the data as to what the Fed will do next year and how far it has to go,” said Scott Ren, senior global market strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. I think we’re in a good place after the month. We have enough flexibility to get where they want by the end of the year.”
US Treasury yields eased slightly on Friday after reports that US household inflation expectations had fallen to their lowest level since last year. This is good for the market, as the Fed fears that higher expectations will make it harder to fight inflation. But the survey also showed that there remains a very high degree of uncertainty among households about where inflation is headed.
Yields on two-year US Treasuries, which tend to follow expectations of Federal Reserve action, fell to 3.84% from 3.92% just before the report was released. The 10-year yield fell to 3.45% from 3.49%.
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