© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., January 27, 2023. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
By Caroline Mandel
(Reuters) – The Nasdaq closed lower on Friday as mega-cap growth stocks came under pressure after Treasury yields pointed to higher interest rates and shares of the private transportation company. Lyft slumped after a pessimistic earnings forecast.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to their highest level in more than a month after an auction Thursday for 30-year bonds saw weak demand. (US/)
“Investors are asking what the bond market is telling us that the economic indicators are not telling us,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. “Higher bond yields will hit faster-growth tech companies more negatively.”
But a rally in energy stocks as oil prices rose on Russia’s plans to cut crude supplies helped lift the Dow and the .
The S&P 500 rose 169.52 points, or 0.5%, to 33,869.4, the S&P 500 gained 8.98 points, or 0.22%, to 4,090.48 and fell 71.46 points, or a 0.61%, to 11,718.12.
The Nasdaq posted its first weekly drop this year, down 2.41%, while the S&P 500 closed the week down 1.11% and the Dow Jones lost 0.17%, in a week dominated by commentary. aggressive calls from US Federal Reserve officials and earnings reports from more than half of the components of the S&P 500.
That comes after a stellar performance for the stock in January. This month, however, strong jobs data and comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell stoked concerns about how much higher interest rates will need to rise.
“What’s been happening in the last few days is every other day there’s a Fed governor who’s talking about a hard line,” said Kevin Rendino, chief executive of asset manager 180 Degree Capital.
The Russell 1000 Growth Index which houses many large-cap growth names fell 0.33%.
Lyft Inc (NASDAQ:) plunged 36.44% on cutting prices, raising concerns that it was falling behind its biggest rival, Uber Technologies (NYSE:) Inc. Uber shares also fell 4 .43%.
Most of the top 11 sectors of the S&P 500 rose. The energy sector jumped 3.92% as oil prices rose on Russia’s plans to cut crude supplies, while the consumer discretionary sector fell 1.22%. (EITHER)
More than half of the companies listed in the S&P 500 have reported earnings, with 69% beating earnings estimates for the quarter, according to Refinitiv data.
US consumer confidence improved further in February month-on-month, but households expected higher inflation to persist over the next 12 months, a February flash reading from the University of Michigan showed.
After US stocks were rocked during the week by strong jobs data, investors are waiting for January consumer inflation data next week to clarify the path of the Fed’s rate hike .
Volume on US exchanges was 10.43bn shares, compared with an average of 11.85bn for the full session over the past 20 trading days.
Issues going down outnumbered going up on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of 1.03 to 1; on Nasdaq, a 1.35-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 3 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite posted 36 new highs and 68 new lows.
