Stocks shake off an early loss, head for another weekly gain
Stocks shook off an early loss Wall Street Friday and turned higher in afternoon trading, adding to their weekly gains
NEW YORK — Stocks shook off an early loss Wall Street Friday and turned higher in afternoon trading, adding to their weekly gains.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% as of 1:01 p.m. Eastern. The benchmark index notched back-to-back days with gains of 2% this week and is on track for its biggest weekly gain this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11 points, or less than 0.1%, to 34,491. The Nasdaq rose 1.4% and is also headed for its best weekly gain this year.
Banks and industrial companies were among the biggest drags on the market. Bank of America fell 1% and Caterpillar lost 1%.
Gains by several big technology companies helped counter losses elsewhere in the market. Chipmaker Nvidia rose 5.5%.
Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.15% from 2.19% late Thursday.
The broader market has been volatile over the last few weeks as investors consider a number of concerns including inflation and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Major indexes are down for the year in a sharp reversal from solid gains over the last several years.
“That macro picture is not going to change, it’s going to take weeks and months,” said Jason Draho, head of asset allocation for the Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management. “Nothing in the past few days is going to alter that.”
The ongoing war in Ukraine continues to drive sentiment after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more help for his country after days of bombardment of civilian sites. Wall Street is also still concerned about rising interest rates, along with surging COVID-19 cases in China and Europe.
Russia’s invasion Ukraine has weighed heavily on markets as investors try to gauge how the conflict could impact global economic growth. Markets in Europe have been particularly sensitive to the war and were mostly lower on Friday. Oil prices have been extremely volatile and U.S. benchmark crude oil remains above $100. Energy prices were relatively stable on Friday.
The high energy prices are only adding to worries about inflation and whether the squeeze on consumers will eventually crimp spending and economic growth.
High inflation has prompted central banks to rethink their low interest-rate policies. The Bank of England has been one of the most aggressive, and it raised its key interest rate on Thursday for the third time since December.
The Federal Reserve announced a 0.25% increase on its key interest rate this week. It is the first rate hike since 2018 and is expected to be followed by more this year as the Fed tries to tame inflation.
Several stocks were making big moves after releasing their latest financial results and updates. FedEx fell 5.2% after its fiscal third-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street forecasts. U.S. Steel fell 7.1% after giving investors a disappointing profit forecast.
