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U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending their six-day winning streak. However, stocks initially rallied as economic data showed core PCE inflation slowed to its lowest level in nearly three years. The Dow ended the day in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.2% or 60.30 points to end at 38,109.43 points.
The S&P 500 slid 0.1% or 3.19 points, to finish at 4,890.97 points. Tech stocks were the worst performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) declined 1.2%. The Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (XLV) gained 0.6%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) jumped 0.7%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.4% or 55.13 points to close at 15,455.36 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.41% to 13.26. A total of 9.6 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.6 billion.
Economic Data Lift Investors’ Sentiment
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended their six-day winning streak on Friday. Till Thursday, the S&P closed at a record high for the fifth straight session. However, the rally lost steam on Friday despite economic data showing that inflation cooled as the year came to a close.
The Commerce Department said that personal consumption expenditure (PCE) rose a meager 0.2% in December on a month-over-month basis, while it held steady at 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Core PCE, which excludes the volatile energy and food prices, increased 0.2% in December after increasing 0.1% in November, However, year over year, core PCE rose 2.9%, the lowest rate since March 2021.
Inflation is still elevated but has been slowing substantially. The Federal Reserve has also hinted at cutting interest rates this year, which has been giving a boost to investors’ confidence.
Friday’s PCE inflation reading comes just a day after data showed that the U.S. economy grew at a faster pace than expected. The Commerce Department said that U.S. GDP grew a solid 3.3% at an annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2023, surpassing the consensus estimate of a gain of 2% but lower than 4.9% increase in the third quarter.
Intel Weighs Heavy on Major Indexes
The S&P 500’s decline on Friday came after Intel Corporation ((INTC - Free Report) ) gave a weak fiscal first-quarter outlook despite the chipmaker reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2023 results.
Chip manufacturing tools maker KLA Corporation ((KLAC - Free Report) ) also fell 6.6%. However, shares of American Express Company ((AXP - Free Report) ) jumped 7.1% after the company offered a better-than-expected earnings outlook for the full year.
The Earnings season is in full swing and investors are keeping a close watch on the quarterly results of American corporates, as a big batch of companies gear up to report their results in the coming weeks.
Economic Data
In other economic data released on Friday, personal spending rose 0.7% in December, surpassing estimates of a rise of 0.5%. Personal income rose to 0.3%, which came in line with expectations.
The personal savings rate fell to 3.7% in December, down from 4.1% in November.
Pending home sales increased 8.3% month over month in December.
Weekly Roundup
Although the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished in the red on Friday, all three major indexes clinched weekly gains. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% for the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the week 0.9% higher, while the Dow climbed 0.7% for the week.
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Stock Market News for Jan 29, 2024
U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending their six-day winning streak. However, stocks initially rallied as economic data showed core PCE inflation slowed to its lowest level in nearly three years. The Dow ended the day in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.2% or 60.30 points to end at 38,109.43 points.
The S&P 500 slid 0.1% or 3.19 points, to finish at 4,890.97 points. Tech stocks were the worst performers.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) declined 1.2%. The Healthcare Select Sector SPDR (XLV) gained 0.6%, while the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) jumped 0.7%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.4% or 55.13 points to close at 15,455.36 points.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 1.41% to 13.26. A total of 9.6 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.6 billion.
Economic Data Lift Investors’ Sentiment
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended their six-day winning streak on Friday. Till Thursday, the S&P closed at a record high for the fifth straight session. However, the rally lost steam on Friday despite economic data showing that inflation cooled as the year came to a close.
The Commerce Department said that personal consumption expenditure (PCE) rose a meager 0.2% in December on a month-over-month basis, while it held steady at 2.6% on a year-over-year basis.
Core PCE, which excludes the volatile energy and food prices, increased 0.2% in December after increasing 0.1% in November, However, year over year, core PCE rose 2.9%, the lowest rate since March 2021.
Inflation is still elevated but has been slowing substantially. The Federal Reserve has also hinted at cutting interest rates this year, which has been giving a boost to investors’ confidence.
Friday’s PCE inflation reading comes just a day after data showed that the U.S. economy grew at a faster pace than expected. The Commerce Department said that U.S. GDP grew a solid 3.3% at an annualized rate in the fourth quarter of 2023, surpassing the consensus estimate of a gain of 2% but lower than 4.9% increase in the third quarter.
Intel Weighs Heavy on Major Indexes
The S&P 500’s decline on Friday came after Intel Corporation ((INTC - Free Report) ) gave a weak fiscal first-quarter outlook despite the chipmaker reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2023 results.
The company reported fourth-quarter 2023 earnings of $0.54 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.44 per share. Intel has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Chip manufacturing tools maker KLA Corporation ((KLAC - Free Report) ) also fell 6.6%. However, shares of American Express Company ((AXP - Free Report) ) jumped 7.1% after the company offered a better-than-expected earnings outlook for the full year.
The Earnings season is in full swing and investors are keeping a close watch on the quarterly results of American corporates, as a big batch of companies gear up to report their results in the coming weeks.
Economic Data
In other economic data released on Friday, personal spending rose 0.7% in December, surpassing estimates of a rise of 0.5%. Personal income rose to 0.3%, which came in line with expectations.
The personal savings rate fell to 3.7% in December, down from 4.1% in November.
Pending home sales increased 8.3% month over month in December.
Weekly Roundup
Although the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished in the red on Friday, all three major indexes clinched weekly gains. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% for the week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the week 0.9% higher, while the Dow climbed 0.7% for the week.