All three major indices are set for sharp weekly losses Costco slips after quarterly gross margins fall Energy stocks fall as U.S. crude prices fall
Sept 23 (Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes edged lower to close well on Friday as jittery investors continued to reposition amid fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy will help the U.S. economy in recession. The Dow (.DJI) narrowly avoided ending more than 20% lower than its Jan. 4 record close of 36,799.64, meaning the blue-chip index fell short of a bear market label, according to a commonly used definition. The S&P 500 (.SPX) and Nasdaq (.IXIC) are already in a bear market. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up After enjoying big gains over the past two years, Wall Street has been rocked in 2022 by concerns over a range of issues, including the conflict in Ukraine, the energy crisis in Europe, the outbreak of COVID-19 in China and tighter economic conditions across the globe. people. Half a dozen central banks, including the United States, Britain, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway, raised interest rates this week to fight inflation, but it was the Fed’s signal that it expects high US interest rates to last until 2023 which caught the markets off guard. read more “There were some optimists out there saying inflation could be brought under control, but the Fed basically told them to sit back and shut up,” said David Russell, Vice President of Market Intelligence at TradeStation Group. “The Fed is trying to end official aid, trying to kill inflation while the labor market is still strong.” Dire outlooks from a handful of companies have also added to the woes of a seasonally weak period for markets. Having withdrawn its profit forecast last week, FedEx Corp ( FDX.N ) on Thursday outlined up to $2.7 billion in cost cuts after demand fell in first-quarter earnings. read more The delivery giant’s stock fell in trading on Friday. Estimated S&P 500 earnings growth for the third quarter is 4.6%, down from 5% last week, according to data from Refinitiv. A trader stands under a monitor on the trading floor showing the Dow Jones Industrial Average at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 13, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly read more Goldman Sachs cut its year-end target for the benchmark S&P 500 (.SPX) by about 16% to 3,600. read more “We’re making everyone reassess how far the Fed will go, and that’s worrisome for the economy,” said Ed Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA. “It’s becoming the base case scenario that this economy is going to have a hard landing, and that’s a terrible environment for U.S. stocks.” According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 62.49 points, or 1.69%, to end at 3,694.32, while the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) lost 193.70 points, or 1.75%, in 10,873.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) fell 473.55 points, or 1.57%, to 29,603.13. All three indexes also posted sharp weekly losses. All 11 major S&P sectors fell, led by a slide in energy stocks (.SPNY). Oil and gas-related stocks were hit by falling crude prices, which fell in response to concerns about demand in a recessionary environment and a strong US dollar. Oilfield services were hit particularly hard, with Halliburton Co ( HAL.N ), Schlumberger ( SLB.N ) and Helmerich and Payne Inc ( HP.N ) falling. Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp ( COST.O ) fell after the big retailer’s fourth-quarter margins fell. read more The CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), also known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, rose to a three-month high. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Devik Jain in Bengaluru and David French in New York. Edited by Marguerita Choy Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
