Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Stock Market News For Apr 23, 2018

Read MoreHide Full Article

Markets finished lower on Friday, as technology stocks took a hit owing to concerns of weak demand for iPhones. Also, the broader consumer staples sector took a hit led by Pepsi and Procter& Gamble. Moreover, a rise in bond yields, reflecting fears of rising inflation, kept investors worried. The 10-year Treasury note touched a four-year high leading to huge selloffs. Following these events, all the major indexes closing lower on Friday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.8%, to close at 24,462.94. The S&P 500 fell 0.9% to close at 2,670.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 7146.13, shedding 1.3%. A total of 6.45 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 6.92 billion shares. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.40-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.74-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.

How did the Benchmark Perform?

The Dow declined 201.95 points as shares of Apple (AAPL - Free Report) tumbled on concerns of weak demand for iPhones, leading to a decline in all tech stocks. Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) declined 1.1%, while Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) and Facebook fell 1.9% and 1%, respectively. Apple has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

The S&P 500 declined 22.99 points to close in the red, with consumer staples and technology taking a major hit, with all but one index closing lower. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) declined 1.5% and 1.7%, respectively. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq shed 7146.13 points.

Tech Stocks, Consumer Staples Take a Hit

Tech stocks declined on Friday, with Apple at the helm of the carnage, as concerns over weak demand of iPhones saw the company’s shares plummeting. Shares of Apple declined 4.1% after Morgan Stanley (MS - Free Report) predicted that sales of iPhone in the June quarter will be low.

This saw other tech stocks taking a hit for the fourth consecutive day ahead of the earnings week for the sector. Tech stocks have been reeling under pressure for quite some time now and the low sales projection of iPhones is a further blow to the sector.

Moreover, consumer staples stocks declined led by PepsiCo (PEP - Free Report) , which fell 2.9%. Also, shares of Procter & Gamble and Phillip Morris International (PM - Free Report) declined 2.9% and 1.6%, respectively. Procter and Gamble’s shares declined after the company said on Thursday that higher costs and shrinking retailer inventories were weighing on its margins. Shares of Philip Morris declined after the company reported weak shipment volumes in its quarterly results.

10-Year Treasury Note Hits 4-Year High

Friday’s decline in stocks were also driven by investors’ fears over concerns of expectations of rising inflation., The 10-year Treasury yield reached 2.96%, its highest level since January 2014. This saw huge selloffs in bonds. Investors panicked as they felt that the government’s protectionist policy will boost inflation higher. However, banks stocks gained on the back of higher rates. This saw the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) gain 0.1%.

Weekly Roundup

It was a mixed week for all the three major indexes as the earnings season got into full swing. U.S. stock markets surged on the first two day of the week driven by robust first-quarter 2018 earnings results, strong economic data and easing geopolitical tensions. The middle of the week was a mixed bag for the markets with the Dow declining marginally.

However, the last two days of the week saw all major indexes ending in red. This was primarily because of concerns over rising inflation, which saw the 10-year Treasury yield touching a four year high. Moreover, consumer staples stocks too suffered, as earnings failed to produce any blowout results that the market was looking for. The tech sector was once again hit after Morgan Stanley said that iPhones would witness sales in the June quarter.

However, despite this, both Dow and S&P 500 rose 0.4% each over the week, while Nasdaq gained 1.3%.

Stocks That Made Headlines

Kansas City Southern Q1 Earnings Miss, Improve Y/Y

Kansas City Southern’s first-quarter 2018 earnings fell short of the Zacks Consensus Estimate. (Read More)

Skechers' Q1 Earnings Meet, Muted Outlook Hurts Stock

Skechers USA Inc.’s (SKX - Free Report) first-quarter 2018 earnings came in line with analysts’ expectations. (Read More)

Today's Stocks from Zacks' Hottest Strategies

It's hard to believe, even for us at Zacks. But while the market gained +21.9% in 2017, our top stock-picking screens have returned +115.0%, +109.3%, +104.9%, +98.6%, and +67.1%. And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. Over the years it has been remarkably consistent. From 2000 - 2017, the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over. Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we're willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation.

See Them Free>>