For the week, the DJIA fell 1.8% to close at 30,932.37, the S&P 500 fell 2% to 3,811.15. The Nasdaq was down 4.9%, closing at 13,192.34
Fewer Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week amid falling COVID-19 infections; the outlook for the labor market is uncertain as winter storms wreaked havoc in the South this month.
January saw a solid increase in demand for U.S. manufactured goods and retail sales increased by the most in seven months as there was a reopening of many services businesses as COVID recedes. Much of the brightening economic picture is being attributed to the December pandemic relief bill.
On Thursday, Stocks on Wall Street were trading lower with the Nasdaq posting largest daily fall since late October. The Dow and the S&P 500 notched their biggest daily decline since late January.
The dollar fell against a basket of currencies and The Treasury note yield rose above S&P 500 dividend yield, wiping out the stock market yield's strong advantage.
Apple, Amazon.com Inc, Microsoft Corp, Alphabet Inc (GOOG), Facebook Inc., and Netflix Inc dropped between 1.2% to 3.6%.
Tesla Inc fell 8.1% after a media report that the electric-car maker told workers it would temporarily halt some production at its California assembly plant.
Health care stocks declined moderately early Thursday; NYSE Health Care Index slipped 0.8% and the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF was down 1.2%. However, Moderna Inc jumped 2.5% after the drugmaker said it was expecting $18.4 billion in sales from its COVID-19 vaccine.
Consumer Stocks continued to lose ground Thursday afternoon, and Financial Stocks declined.
Daily coronavirus cases and hospitalizations have dropped to levels last seen before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, while the pace of vaccination is picking up.
Commerce Dept reported on Thursday orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 0.5% in January after surging 1.5% in December. This accounts for 11.9% of the U.S. economy.
The Economy grew at a 4.1% rate last quarter, the Commerce Department said in its second estimate of fourth-quarter GDP on Thursday. That was a slight upward revision from the 4.0% reported in January and a sharp deceleration from a record 33.4% rate in the third quarter.
Microsoft Corp's failure to fix known problems with its cloud software facilitated the massive SolarWinds hack that compromised at least nine federal government agencies, according to security experts and the office of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden. U.S. officials have blamed Russia for the massive intelligence operation that penetrated SolarWinds.
Boeing Co will pay $6.6 million to U.S. regulators as part of a settlement over quality and safety-oversight lapses going back years.
Airbnb bookings rebound as lockdown-weary Americans step out for short trips.
Energy stocks were sharply higher Thursday, with the NYSE Energy Sector Index climbing 2.9% while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF also was up 3.0%.
IEA says Oil Demand Won't Recover to Pre-COVID levels by year-end, Nat Gas Demand May Recover to 2019 levels by year-end.
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Tom Vilsack to head the Department of Agriculture, returning the former Iowa governor to the job he held under ex-President Barack Obama.
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Stocks Close Mixed, End Week Lower
The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies on Friday as U.S. government bond yields held near one-year highs, while riskier currencies such as the Aussie dollar weakened.
Bond Markets suffering from U.S. to Britain, to Germany and Australia, as government borrowing costs are set to end February with biggest monthly rise in years due to inflation outlook.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen announced a withdrawal of the U.S. Safe Harbour Proposal and its opposition to the idea of global rules on taxing at a meeting of finance ministers and central bankers of the world's top 20 economies on Friday, a G20 official said.
The leaders of the IMF and World Bank on Friday vowed to step up efforts to combat climate change by monitoring climate-related financial stability risk and using other tools at their disposal.
US benchmark oil prices tumble at the end of the session to close 3.2% lower at $61.50 a barrel, putting an end to four straight sessions of increases.
Kansas City Federal Reserve's monthly composite services index fell to a reading of 1 in February from 8 in January, suggesting only modest growth.
Personal income surged 10.0 percent in January, boosted, as expected, by federal stimulus payments. January's advance was the largest since April 2020.
Although income far outpaced spending, the latter still recovered 2.4 percent on the month as measured by personal consumption expenditures, consistent with the strong retail sales rebound over the month.
The consumer sentiment index for February is a still depressed 76.8, closing out the weakest month since August. This index was just over 100 when the pandemic first struck early last year.
The February Chicago PMI reading fell to 59.5 from 63.8 in January, while regional manufacturing data for February indicates continued widespread expansion. The National ISM manufacturing index will be released on Monday.
State and local government pension systems are increasingly dependent on investment returns, and at risk of increasingly volatile results.
Global equity markets swooned on Friday, with fears of rising inflation weighing on sentiment as data showed a strong rebound in U.S. consumer spending.
Natural gas prices end a slight 0.2% lower at $2.771, their seventh straight session of declines as warmer weather and weaker demand means fewer investors are interested in buying the commodity. For the week, gas prices end 7.3% lower, snapping a four-week winning streak.
Health care stocks were slightly lower, with the NYSE Health Care Index falling 0.3% and the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF down 0.3%. Moderna and Pfizer Inc. both outperformed competitors.
American dairy farms continue to decline, with farmers facing another difficult year as rising grain prices boost animal feed costs and gains in US milk production outstrip demand.
Severe winter cold and snow in the southern US led to the loss of more than 1 M chickens this month. Poultry market prices already has been rising, due partly to fast- food chicken sandwich launches. Wholesale chicken prices last week were up more than 48% from a year ago.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield eased to 1.451% after jumping 1.614% overnight, roiling stock markets. The 10-year note fell 1.7 basis points to 1.4977%. Tech Stocks are particularly sensitive to rising yields.
U.S. trade deficit in goods widened to $83.7 billion in January from a revised $83.2 billion in the prior month, making it the second highest gap on record.
Gold futures fell for a fourth consecutive session on Friday to finish the session at their lowest since June, amidst a stronger dollar and rising Treasury yields. Silver ends month 1.85% lower at $26.402. Copper prices scored their largest monthly gain in over four years, up 14.58% at $4.0945.
GameStop Corp jumped 11% as retail investors pushed up the stock in a renewed rally. Salesforce.com Inc slipped about 1.3% as the online software company forecast full-year profit below market expectations.
For the month, Nasdaq, which had its worst week since October, ended roughly 1.8% higher while the S&P 500 posted a monthly gain of about 3.5%. Although the Dow closed at a 3-week low, it still posted gains of nearly 4% for the month.
For the week, the DJIA fell 1.8% to end at 30,932.37, and the S&P 500 fell 2% to 3,811.15. The Nasdaq Composite, despite gaining 0.8% Friday, lost 4.9% for the week closing at 13,192.34, its sharpest weekly drop since October.
