S&P500 and Nasdaq Extend Weekly Losses After Inflation Worries Resurface

Barry Adams
15 Mar, 2024
New York City

Stocks on Wall Street declined in Friday's trading amid heightened volatility because of the expiration of index options, futures, and individual stock options. 

The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite inched 0.5% lower, and the benchmark indexes are likely to extend losses from the previous week on the worry of resurgent inflation. 

At the close of the previous week, the S&P 500 index declined 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.0%. 

Investors pared back rate-cut expectations following the June policy meeting after consumer price inflation and producer price inflation stayed significantly above the Fed's target rate of 2%. 

Despite the multiple rate hikes over the last eighteen months, inflation is well anchored in the economy and continues to broaden to the services sector. 

Consumer price inflation has steadily declined after peaking at 9.1% in June 2022 to around 3%, but that decline was largely driven by the fall in energy prices and not because of the Fed's policy actions. 

Moreover, volatile energy prices have also been on the upward trend for the last three months, amid elevated tensions in the Middle East and a faster-than-expected decline in crude oil inventories in the U.S., the largest consumer of fossil fuels. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.5% to 5,127.12, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.6% to 16,033.73. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes increased to 4.72%, 10-year Treasury notes inched up to 4.32%, and 30-year Treasury bonds edged down to 4.43%.

WTI crude oil increased $0.17 to $81.09 a barrel, and natural gas prices decreased 1 cent to $1.73 a thermal unit.

Gold decreased by $0.95 to $2,161.95 an ounce, and silver rose 6 cents to $24.91. 

The dollar index, which weighs the U.S. dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower to 103.34.

 

U.S. Stock Movers

Adobe declined 12.2% to $502.07 after the software developer reported mixed quarterly results and issued a weak outlook for the current quarter. 

Ulta Beauty dropped 7.6% to $522.0 after the cosmetic retailer estimated a lower-than-expected full-year sales outlook. 

McDonald's Corp. decreased 0.1% to $282.05 after the fast food chain operator faced a global technology outage, forcing some restaurants to temporarily suspend operations in Japan, Australia, and the U.K. 

WW International soared 10.7% to $2.07 and rebounded from the 52-week low after the Weight Watchers' parent company's ongoing concerns and core weight loss business.