US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq notch biggest weekly losses since March

Activision Blizzard

22/09/2023 21:16

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        * 
      Ford up on Reuters report UAW has made progress in labor
talks
    

        * 
      Alibaba jumps on report of Cainiao Hong Kong IPO
    

        * 
      U.S.-listed Chinese shares rise on signs of economic
rebound
    

        * 
      Indexes down: Dow 0.31%, S&P 0.23%, Nasdaq 0.09%
    

  
 (Updated at 4:11PM ET)
    By Stephen Culp
       NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) - 
    Wall Street see-sawed to a lower close on Friday, capping a
tumultuous week during which benchmark Treasury yields hit
16-year highs and investors digested the Federal Reserve's
hawkish outlook revisions.
  
        All three major U.S. stock indexes oscillated for much
of the session but ended red.
  
        All three posted weekly losses, with the S&P 500 and the
Nasdaq registering their largest Friday-to-Friday percentage
drops since March. 
  
    On Thursday, the S&P 500 dipped below its 100-day moving
average - a key support level - for the first time since March,
Its failure to break above that level suggests the index is
still under downward pressure.
        "This week is about some Fed messaging colliding with
overly optimistic equity investors," said Zachary Hill, head of
portfolio management at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North
Carolina. 
  
        Hill added that investors have "wanted to trade peak
interest rates for almost a year now." But he said it was clear
in remarks this week by Fed Chair Jerome Powell "and in the dot
plot that the Fed doesn't think we’re there yet."
  
        "This week’s stock action has been about digesting that
reality."
  
    Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields retreated from 16-year highs
as investors turned their focus from hawkish Fed guidance to key
economic data waiting in the wings.
    Investors were still digesting the Fed's decision to let its
key interest rate stand, but update its quarterly Summary
Economic Projections to suggest restrictive monetary policy will
remain in place longer than previously anticipated.
    On Friday, remarks from Fed Governor Michelle Bowman
supported the FOMC hawks, suggesting the Fed funds target rate
should be raised further and held "at a restrictive level for
some time" to bring inflation down to the central bank's 2%
target.    
        "There are a lot of factors working against a soft
landing and that’s something the Fed needs to be reminded of,
because pushing rates higher could push us into recession," said
Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in
Fairfield, Connecticut.
  
        The Dow Jones Industrial Average  .DJI  fell 106.58
points, or 0.31%, to 33,963.84, the S&P 500  .SPX  lost 9.94
points, or 0.23%, to 4,320.06 and the Nasdaq Composite  .IXIC 
dropped 12.18 points, or 0.09%, to 13,211.81.
    Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer
discretionary  .SPLRCD  suffered the steepest percentage loss,
while tech  .SPLRCT  and energy  .SPNY  were the only gainers. 
    Ford Motor Co  F.N  gained 1.9% after the striking United
Auto Workers union reported progress in talks with the
automaker.
    Activision Blizzard  ATVI.O  added 1.7% in the wake
Britain's antitrust regulator's statement that Microsoft Corp's
 MSFT.O  restructured $69 billion acquisition of the company by
"opens the door" to the biggest-ever gaming deal being cleared.
    U.S.-listed shares of Chinese firms including PDD Holdings
 PDD.O , JD.com  JD.O , Li Auto  LI.O  and Baidu  BIDU.O  rose
between 2% and 4% on signs of an economic a rebound, while
Alibaba  BABA.N  jumped 5.0% after Bloomberg reported that
report the company's logistics arm Cainiao was planning to file
for a Hong Kong IPO as soon as next week.
    Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a
1.12-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.29-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
    The S&P 500 posted one new 52-week high and 35 new lows; the
Nasdaq Composite recorded 33 new highs and 321 new lows.  
    Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.47 billion shares, compared
with the 10.09 billion average for the full session over the
last 20 trading days.

 (Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Ankika
Biswas and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by David
Gregorio)
 ((stephen.culp@thomsonreuters.com; 646-223-6076;))