This week, U.S. stocks experienced some pressure following hawkish remarks from Federal Reserve officials.[0] The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) edged down 0.2% in last week’s stock market trading, while the S&P 500 index fell 1.1%.[1] The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 2.4%.[1] All three indexes closed in the green on Tuesday.[2]
After jumping 1.3% the day before, the S&P 500 dropped 1.2% during afternoon trading, following a turbulent session.[2] The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decrease of 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.7%.[3] Initial unemployment claims in the United States rose by 13,000 to 196,000 in the week ended, which is higher than the anticipated figure of 190,000 and indicates a weakening labor market.[4]
In Europe, stocks were higher today.[5] The STOXX 600 of the Eurozone grew by 0.1%, the FTSE 100 of London increased by 0.2%, and Spain’s IBEX 35 Index saw an[5] The German DAX climbed 0.1%, the French CAC 40 surged 0.1%, and Italy’s FTSE MIB Index rose 0.2%.[5] On the same day, the US 10-year yield dropped to 3.72% by 2.2 basis points, while the two-year rate increased to 4.54% by three basis points. Britain’s 10-year yield declined two basis points to 3.29%.
After its quarterly earnings report revealed a weak forecast, Lyft (LYFT) experienced a sharp decline in share price. LYFT stocks dropped significantly following the release of their fourth quarter financial report, which revealed an unexpected loss and a less-than-satisfactory revenue forecast for the quarter ahead. Joining many other tech companies that have laid off thousands of people, the company declared that it would be reducing its personnel.[0]
Shares of Expedia (EXPE) dropped sharply after the company reported fourth quarter results which failed to meet expectations of analysts on both revenues and profits.[6] Shares of Google parent company Alphabet, Inc. (GOOGL) traded lower this week after its artificial intelligence chatbot Bard failed to impress Wall Street at Google’s AI event on Wednesday.[7]
In commodities, gold prices plummeted $10.80 to $1,863.70 U.S. an ounce.[8] West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.1% to $77.63 a barrel, while Bitcoin fell 4.[9]
0. “Stocks end mostly higher, but S&P 500, Nasdaq book worst weekly losses since December” MarketWatch, 10 Feb. 2023, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/u-s-stock-futures-point-to-another-down-day-on-wall-street-amid-earnings-disappointment-e26059bc
1. “Dow Jones Futures: Market Rally Pullback Continues; What To Do As Inflation, Tesla Data Loom | Investor’s Business …” Investor’s Business Daily, 12 Feb. 2023, https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/market-rally-has-first-real-pullback-cpi-inflation-report-looms-large-tesla-stock/
2. “Stocks Fall as Investors Keep Eye on Path of Interest Rates” The Wall Street Journal, 8 Feb. 2023, https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-markets-dow-update-02-08-2023-11675858404
3. “S&P 500 gives up gains as deeper yield curve inversion spooks stocks By Investing.com” Investing.com, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/sp-gives-up-gains-as-deeper-yield-curve-inversion-spooks-stocks-2999822
4. “Stocks Relinquish Early Gains and Close Lower as Bond Yields Climb” Barchart, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.barchart.com/story/news/14072296/stocks-relinquish-early-gains-and-close-lower-as-bond-yields-climb
5. “Dow Falls 150 Points; US Consumer Prices Rise 0.5% In January – Endava (NYSE:DAVA), Denny’s (NASDAQ:DENN)” Benzinga, 14 Feb. 2023, https://www.benzinga.com/news/earnings/23/02/30900435/dow-falls-150-points-us-consumer-prices-rise-0-5-in-january
6. “U.S. Stocks Close Mixed On The Day But Lower For The Week” RTTNews, 10 Feb. 2023, https://www.rttnews.com/3343524/u-s-stocks-close-mixed-on-the-day-but-lower-for-the-week.aspx
7. “Markets Fall on Worries About Corporate Profits” Investopedia, 8 Feb. 2023, https://www.investopedia.com/markets-fall-on-worries-about-corporate-profits-7107410
8. “Dow Rockets 250+, Clawing Back Some of its Declines” InvestorsObserver, 13 Feb. 2023, https://www.investorsobserver.com/news/qm-news/8244349936548762
9. “Stock Buyers’ Fatigue Kicks In as Bond Yields Jump: Markets Wrap” Yahoo! Voices, 9 Feb. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/now/asia-stocks-face-declines-wall-230048868.html