NEW YORK: US stocks were mixed on Friday, losing momentum as the session progressed as investors digested a hectic week of mixed earnings, and economic data that seemed to support the “higher for longer” interest rate scenario.
The Nasdaq advanced, with tech and tech-adjacent momentum stocks such as Amazon.com and Microsoft Corp providing much of the heavy lifting, while the benchmark S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost ground.
All three indexes remain on course for weekly losses. “It’s a divergent market,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.
“We’re seeing bit more interest in megacap names on the back of the Amazon (earnings) report and that’s giving confidence to some investors willing to step in and buy.”
The Commerce Department’s hotly anticipated Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report showed inflation gradually cooling down as expected, getting closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual target while consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the US economy, posted a robust upside surprise.
“The price index is down year-over-year - that’s a positive - and consumer spending continues to be high,” Pavlik added. “Don’t ever bet against the US consumer.” The data did little to move the needle regarding market expectations that the Fed will leave its key interest rate unchanged at its November policy meeting.
Market participants are nearing the end of a busy earnings week, during which nearly one-third of the companies in the S&P 500 posted third-quarter results.
As of Friday, the reporting season had essentially reached the halfway point, with 245 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 78% have delivered consensus-beating earnings.
Analysts now expect aggregate annual S&P earnings growth of 4.3%, a sharp improvement over the 1.6% growth seen at the beginning of the month.
Amazon.com jumped 6.4% after the e-commerce giant reported its cloud business growth is stabilizing and predicted a revenue increase over the holiday season.
Intel surged 9.2% following the chipmaker’s consensus-beating quarterly report, lifting the whole sector. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index advanced 1.0%.
At 2:22 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 356.9 points, or 1.09%, to 32,427.4, the S&P 500 lost 25.51 points, or 0.62%, at 4,111.72 and the Nasdaq Composite added 16.94 points, or 0.13%, at 12,612.54.
Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, energy suffered the steepest percentage drop. Consumer discretionary and tech were the only gainers. Chevron dropped 5.9% after reporting a drop in third-quarter profit.
Shares of Exxon Mobil reversed earlier gains to fall 1.6% after the company posted a 54% year-on-year drop in profit. Ford Motor sank 11.8% after it withdrew its full-year forecast due to “uncertainty” over the pending ratification of its deal with the United Auto Workers union, and warned of continued pressure on electric vehicles.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.70-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.97-to-1 ratio favored decliners. The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 61 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 10 new highs and 408 new lows.
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