US stocks closed lower on Friday, with all three major indexes posting weekly losses, as investors weighed inflation readings and corporate earnings.
How are stocks traded?
-
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 145.13 points, or 0.4%, to close at 38,627.99 points.
-
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 24.16 points, or 0.5%, to 5,005.57 points.
-
The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 130.52 points, or 0.8%, to close at 15,775.65 points.
Over the course of the week, the Dow Jones fell 0.1%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite, which is dominated by technology stocks, fell 1.3%.
What drove the markets?
US stocks closed lower on Friday, as the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite all lost five straight weeks of gains.
The market's stability despite “nerving inflation data” this week and “hawkish” comments from Federal Reserve officials is “remarkable,” Mark Hackett, head of investment research at Nationwide, said by phone on Friday. “At some point, we'll get a reminder that it's not that easy.”
The S&P 500 is still up 4.9% so far this year despite falling on Friday.
The stock market appears resilient in the face of hotter-than-expected inflation readings this week due to “continued strong earnings” as companies report fourth-quarter results, said David Waddell, CEO and chief investment strategist at Waddell & Associates. In a phone interview on Friday. He said fourth-quarter profits were “much better than expected.”
Although US inflation in January, as measured by the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index, was stronger than Wall Street expected, Waddell noted that “the trend is lower.”
Data from the Producer Price Index showed that wholesale prices rose 0.3% last month, according to a report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was the largest increase in five months and exceeded economists' expectations for a 0.1% rise.
Core wholesale prices, which exclude food, energy and trade margins, rose further in January, rising 0.6% for the biggest monthly jump in a year.
Stocks tumbled Friday as Treasury yields rose after the Producer Price Index inflation report. The interest rate on the 10-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD10Y rose more than 5 basis points to 4.294%, according to Dow Jones market data.
is reading: The Fed's Daly says patience is needed to finish the job on inflation
In other economic news, investors digested new data on housing construction, which showed new home construction fell 14.8% in January as homebuilders scaled back their new projects.
Also, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer confidence gauge for February rose to 79.6 from 79 last month.
Strong earnings reports helped boost some stocks on Friday, with shares of Applied Materials Inc. AMAT,
It jumped more than 6% after the chip equipment company provided upbeat results and guidance after Thursday's close.
Chip maker Nvidia Corp. NVDA,
The company, which is included in the “Magnificent Seven” group of large-cap stocks, will announce its quarterly earnings next week on February 21. The company's shares closed 0.1% lower on Friday with the S&P 500's technology sector broadly lower.
With 79% of S&P 500 companies reporting fourth-quarter earnings so far, 75% of them reported a “positive” surprise in earnings per share, according to a note Friday from John Butters, senior earnings analyst at FactSet. This is “lower than the five-year average of 77%, but higher than the 10-year average of 74%.”
be seen: Is the stock market open on presidents day? Will the post office deliver the mail?
Companies in focus
-
shares Super Micro Computer Company
SMCI,
-19.99%
It fell 20%, as the largest component of small-cap stocks in the Russell 2000 helped drag the index lower. The stock is still up more than 182% year to date. -
Nike company
to,
-2.40%
Shares fell 2.4% after the company announced 1,700 job cuts as part of a cost-cutting plan. -
DraftKings Company
Deking,
+0.25%
Shares rose by about 0.3% after the company surprised Wall Street with quarterly losses and revenues that were in line with expectations.
Barbara Kohlmeyer contributed to this article.