Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
The S&P 500 fell on Friday and notched its second-straight weekly loss, with technology stocks under pressure as inflation concerns remain front and center ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week.
The broad market index lost 0.65% to close at 5,117.09. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 190.89 points, or 0.49%, to finish the session at 38,714.77, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.96% to 15,973.17.
The S&P 500 shed 0.13% this week. The 30-stock Dow inched lower by 0.02% on the week, and the Nasdaq slipped 0.7%.
Tech shares were broadly lower, with Amazon and Microsoft down more than 2% each. Shares of Apple and Google-parent Alphabet also fell. Chip giant Nvidia has whipsawed this week as traders worry about the stock's valuation and book profits in the high-flying name; it ended the day slightly lower but was up about 0.4% for the week.
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Investors remain hyper vigilant after a slew of data from earlier in the week. February's producer price index, a gauge of wholesaler inflation, advanced more than economists anticipated. The data has helped push the benchmark 10-year Treasury higher by about 22 basis points this week, as investors wondered if the recent economic data was too strong for the Federal Reserve to loosen monetary policy. The Fed will begin its two-day policy meeting on March 19.
Recent economic releases could throw into question whether the Fed feels inflation has cooled enough to begin lowering levels later this year and could raise long-term borrowing rates, according to Macquarie global FX and rates strategist at Thierry Wizman.
"I think the other issue here is not just the 2024 and 2025 [dot plot], its the other issues that the Fed is thinking about which includes that the market is too frothy," Wizman said. "For that reason it could signal that it thinks long-term interest rates should be higher."
Money Report
To be sure, fed funds futures are pricing in a 99% likelihood of the central bank keeping interest rates unchanged at its policy meeting next week, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
Stocks close lower
Stocks closed lower on Friday, while the benchmark S&P 500 posted its second straight weekly decline.
The broad market index lost 0.65% to close at 5,117.09, while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 0.96% to 15,973.17. the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 190.89 points, or 0.49%, to close at 38,714.77.
— Brian Evans
New federal rules threaten 3 boating stocks, D.A. Davidson says
Brunswick Corp., MarineMax and OneWater Marine are all threatened by proposed federal regulations attempting to limit boat speeds along the Eastern Seaboard, according to analyst Brandon Rolle at D.A. Davidson.
First proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the rule being put forth by the Commerce Department attempts to limit the number of 35- to 65-foot boats striking right whales by limiting their speed to 10 knots (roughly 11 miles per hour) off the coast from Massachusetts to central Florida seven months a year.
"From our conversations with boat industry contacts, it appears there is 90%+ chance this rule is passed by the White House next month, although last second lobbying by boat industry participants could alter some of the restrictions," Rolle wrote to clients Friday. "However, this regulation only provides potential downside to the industry, and it's a question of how much downside at this point. If this regulation is passed, we believe BC and HZO would have the most downside risk, with ONEW also being negatively impacted."
"From an industry perspective, this regulation would weigh negatively on new boat sales, used boat values and higher-[horsepower] engine sales," Davidson said in a 5-page report. The three stocks have fallen anywhere from 9% to 25% each so far in 2024.
— Scott Schnipper
Oil posts weekly gain as crude market expected to tighten
Crude oil futures fell slightly Friday but gained for the week after rising in the two previous sessions.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for April fell 22 cents, or 0.27%, to settle at $81.04 a barrel. The Brent contract for May lost 8 cents, or 0.09%, to settle at $85.34 a barrel.
U.S. crude and the global benchmark are up more than 3.5% week to date so far.\
— Spencer Kimball
3M heads for best week since 2002
3M shares are poised to notch their biggest weekly gain in more than two decades.
The conglomerate's stock has jumped about 11% on the week as of 1:30 p.m. ET. If that holds through close, it would mark the stock's biggest weekly gain since July 2002.
3M shares have been helped this week by news of an approved spin off for its health care business, which will be known as Solventum. The company also announced that Bill Brown will succeed Michael Roman as CEO.
With the gain, 3M is the best performing stock of the 30 that comprise the Dow this week. By comparison, Chevron is the next biggest gainer with a relatively muted jump of just around 3%.
— Alex Harring
Stocks making the biggest moves midday
Check out some of the companies making headlines in midday trading.
- Micron Technology — The semiconductor stock gained 2.4% after Citi named Micron one of its top picks and increased its price target by $55 to $150. The bank said shares deserve a premium given the company's increasing exposure to artificial intelligence.
- Rivian Automotive — Shares popped 3.4% after Piper Sandler upgraded the electric vehicle maker to overweight and hiked its price target to $21 from $15, suggesting 96% upside from Thursday's close. The firm said it is bullish on Rivian's new product launch and its decision to delay capital spending.
- Fisker — Shares rose more than 13%, or two cents, after the beaten-down EV maker played down talks of a possible bankruptcy filing, saying it is trying to raise more capital and hopes to strike a deal with another carmaker. The stock is still down about 53% week to date.
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
Semi ETF heads for worst week since January
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is poised to notch its worst week since January.
With ETF has dropped nearly 3% this week. If that holds through session close, it will mark the biggest loss since early January, when the fund dropped 5% in a week. It would also be the first negative week for the ETF in four.
Marvell, AMD and Taiwan Semiconductor led the fund down, with each tumbling more than 6% in the week. Every member of the ETF with the exception of Nvidia is on pace for losses this week.
— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla
Consumer sentiment survey misses estimate for March
Consumer sentiment was little changed in March though it was slightly below what Wall Street had expected, according to a closely watched University of Michigan survey released Friday.
The Survey of Consumers posted a reading of 76.5, down 0.4 points from February and missing the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 77.4.
Inflation expectations were unchanged at both the one- and five-year horizons, at 3% and 2.9% respectively. The current conditions index also was unchanged at 79.4.
"After strong gains between November 2023 and January 2024, consumer views have stabilized into a holding pattern; consumers perceived few signals that the economy is currently improving or deteriorating," said Joanne Hsu, the survey's director. Hsu added that consumers are "withholding judgment" until the November presidential election.
—Jeff Cox
Stocks open lower
Stocks opened lower Friday, as investors contend with another potentially volatile trading session.
The S&P 500 pulled back 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 16 points, or 0.06%.
— Brian Evans
Watch for potentially higher volatility on Friday
Equities could experience an uptick in volatility throughout Friday trading due to the simultaneous expiration of futures and options contractions on indexes and individual stocks.
The process, known as "triple witching," occurs once every quarter. The expiry could cause increased trading volume as well as elevated prices of the underlying asset.
— Brian Evans
Stocks making premarket moves
Here are some of the names making moves before the bell:
- Rivian Automotive — Shares gained nearly 4% after being upgraded by Piper Sandler to overweight. The firm also raised price target to $21 from $15, suggesting 96% upside from Thursday's close. Piper Sandler is bullish on Rivian's new product launch and its decision to delay capital spending.
- Micron Technology — The semiconductor stock rose 2.6%. On Friday, Citi named Micron one of its top picks, citing artificial-intelligence-related tailwinds. It also increased its price target to $150 from $95, suggesting 64% upside.
- Adobe — The software company dropped 11% a day after issuing weak revenue guidance for its current quarter.
To see more stocks moving in premarket trading, read the full story here.
— Michelle Fox
Bitcoin drops 7% overnight
Cryptocurrency holders on the east coast woke up to a lot of red on their screens on Friday.
Bitcoin was trading above $72,000 late Thursday night, but suffered a steep drop and is now hovering near $67,000. That is a decline of about 7%.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the selloff. Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that the selling pressure was likely coming from the options market.
— Jesse Pound
Shares of One97 Communications jump after Paytm owner receives third-party app license
Shares of One97 Communications jumped 5% after the company said it was granted a third-party application provider license by the National Payments Corporation of India. Last month, Indian bourses implemented circuit limits on the stock after the Reserve Bank of India ordered Paytm Payments Banks to stop onboarding new customers.
This will allow Paytm app users to transfer funds through India's unified payment interface even after Paytm Payments Bank closes down operations by March 15. India's UPI is a real-time payments platform that allows fund transfers across banks.
The statement said four banks including Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India and YES Bank will act as "payment system provider" banks to One97 Communications.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Hyundai, Kia set to recall nearly 170,000 EVs in South Korea
Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp were set to recall some 170,000 electric vehicles in South Korea due to software problems in their charging systems, according to South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Hyundai will recall 113,916 EVs which affecting five EV models, including the popular Ioniq-series. Kia will recall 56,016 EVs, according to the ministry.
The statement said recalls are due to start Monday.
Shares of both companies were about 0.3% higher each, while the broader Kospi shed 1%.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Foxconn shares surge 8% after stellar results, record dividend declared
Shares of Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn surged over 8% following the release of its fourth-quarter and full-year results.
Foxconn, which is traded in Taiwan as Hon Hai Precision Industry, recorded full-year attributable profit of 142.1 billion New Taiwan dollars ($4.49 billion), which translated to earnings of NT$10.25 per share, a 16-year high. Revenue, however, declined 7% from a year ago to NT$6.16 trillion.
In light of these results, Hon Hai announced it will distribute a cash dividend of NT$5.40 per share, the highest since its listing in 1991 and implying a payout ratio exceeding 50% for the fifth year in a row.
Looking forward, Foxconn also revised upward its full-year 2024 outlook from a "neutral" call to "significant" growth, due to the recent increase in generative AI applications, which means that "the visibility on AI servers has become very high," the company said.
— Lim Hui Jie
Japan finance minister says country no longer in deflation, sees strong wage hike trend: Reuters
Japan's finance minister, Shunichi Suzuki, said that the country was "no longer in deflation," adding that "strong trend of wage hikes is taking place," according to a Reuters report.
This marks a distinct break from statements from authorities including prime minister Fumio Kishida, who said in January that "a return to deflation... cannot be ruled out."
As such, the government will mobilize all available policy steps to continue the positive momentum on wages, Suzuki said, according to the report. The finance minister did not comment on the Bank of Japan's policy measures at its meeting on March 18-19.
— Lim Hui Jie, Reuters
Stocks head for winning week
Despite Thursday's retreat, the three major averages remained on track to end the week higher.
The Dow and S&P 500 were slated to end the week up around 0.5% each. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, was poised to add 0.3%.
— Alex Harring
See the stocks making the biggest after-hour moves
These are some of the stocks seeing notable action in extended trading:
- Adobe: The software stock dropped 9.7% following weak guidance for current-quarter revenue. That pulled attention from a better-than-expected quarterly report.
- Ulta: The beauty retailer tumbled 5.7% as full-year earnings guidance largely underwhelmed analysts. Elsewhere, the company beat analyst forecasts on both lines.
- Zumiez: The specialty retailer lost 5% on the back of a soft outlook for the current quarter.
— Alex Harring
Stock futures are little changed
Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 all traded near flat shortly after 6 p.m. ET.
— Alex Harring
