Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Stocks End a Wobbly Week Lower, Breaking 3-Week Win Streak
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
July 16, 2021

Share

Wall Street ended a milestone-setting week on a down note Friday, as stocks closed lower and the S&P 500 index posted its first weekly loss in four weeks.

The benchmark index fell 0.8%, with a good part of its pullback attributable to declines in big technology stocks, banks and companies that rely on consumer spending. Energy and industrial stocks also helped drag the market down, outweighing gains in health care and utilities companies.

Small-company stocks continued to badly lag the rest of the market. Treasury yields remained relatively low, a sign of caution among investors. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 1.29%, well below the 1.75% it fetched in late March.

“Some of what’s been reflected in the bond market is starting to filter into the (stock) market just a little bit,” said Stephanie Roth, senior markets economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

Week Starts With All-Time Highs But Ends on a Down Note

The S&P 500 fell 32.87 points to 4,327.16. It ended the week with a 1% loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 299.17 points, or 0.9%, to 34,687.85. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite slid 115.90 points, or 0.8%, to 14,427.24.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fared worse than the broader market, shedding 27.06 points, or 1.2%, to 2,163.24. The index, which had outpaced the rest of the market for much of 2021, is now up just 9.5% for the year, well below the S&P 500’s year-to-date gain of 15.2%.

Moderna rose 10.3% after the drugmaker was added to the S&P 500 index, prompting a rush of buying from fund managers who need to keep a portfolio of stocks that replicate the index.

Trading was choppy this week after the three major stock indexes set all-time highs on Monday. The downbeat end to the week suggests investors are uncertain about how strongly the economic recovery will be in the second half of the year. Inflation is raging, many of the U.S. government’s pandemic relief efforts are fading and the Federal Reserve is starting to discuss reining in some of its support for the economy.

Expectations Still High Despite COVID’s Reemergence

Investors are also anxious that the spread of new variants of the coronavirus could weaken economies around the world.

“Covid is probably one of the bigger uncertainties out there,” Roth said. “We do have to price in some chance that it becomes a bigger headwind than we think.”

On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered his second day of testimony before Congress. Powell reiterated that signs of inflation should ease or reverse over time, while acknowledging that the U.S. is in the midst of an unparalleled economic reopening on the heels of a pandemic-induced recession.

Investors got a bit of positive economic news Friday. Americans spent more last month on clothing, electronics and dining out as the economy opened up and there were fewer pandemic-related restrictions.

U.S. retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in June from the month before, the U.S. Commerce Department said. The increase was a surprise to Wall Street analysts, who had expected sales to fall slightly last month.

Banks, airlines and other major companies kicked off the latest round of quarterly report cards this week. The reports have been mostly solid, though investors are still trying to gauge how corporations are faring during the recovery and how they might perform for the rest of the year.

The bulk of companies in the S&P 500 will report their results next week and the following week. Expectations are high, with profits in the S&P 500 expected to be up 64% from a year earlier, according to FactSet.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno County DA Wants Teens Tried as Adults in Caleb Quick Murder

DON'T MISS

State Farm Wins First-Ever Emergency Rate Hike in California

DON'T MISS

Work Permits Reinstated for UC Merced International Students, Anxiety Persists

DON'T MISS

Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help Identifying Shooting Suspect

DON'T MISS

MLB Reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, Making Them Hall of Fame Eligible

DON'T MISS

Karbassi Running for Fresno County Elections Clerk, Says He Can ‘Do Better’

DON'T MISS

Global Eggs Completes Acquisition in US, Closes New Deal in Europe

DON'T MISS

‘I Never Said He Called My Son the N-Word.’ Fresno Unified Trustee Thomas Tries to Erase Accusation Against Former Bullard Coach

DON'T MISS

UnitedHealth Group CEO Steps Down as Company Lowers, Then Withdraws Financial Outlook for 2025

UP NEXT

US Inflation Stable Before Expected Jump From Tariffs

UP NEXT

Young People Drive Fresno to CA’s Top Job Growth: Wells Fargo Study

UP NEXT

Fresno’s New Economic Development Leader Has Boomtown Expertise

UP NEXT

Economic Jitters and Soaring Gold Prices Create a Frenzy for US Jewelry Merchants

UP NEXT

S&P 500 Jumps to Over Two-Month High

UP NEXT

US-China Tariff Delay Gives Fed Fresh Reason to Sit Tight on Rates

UP NEXT

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

UP NEXT

Tax the Rich? Slash Spending? Republicans Wrestle With Economic Priorities in the Trump Era

UP NEXT

Tariff Talks Begin Between US and Chinese Officials in Geneva

UP NEXT

Other States Are Showing California How to Protect Its Budget Without Cutting Needed Services

Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery

1 hour ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help Identifying Shooting Suspect

2 hours ago

MLB Reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, Making Them Hall of Fame Eligible

2 hours ago

Karbassi Running for Fresno County Elections Clerk, Says He Can ‘Do Better’

2 hours ago

Global Eggs Completes Acquisition in US, Closes New Deal in Europe

4 hours ago

‘I Never Said He Called My Son the N-Word.’ Fresno Unified Trustee Thomas Tries to Erase Accusation Against Former Bullard Coach

5 hours ago

UnitedHealth Group CEO Steps Down as Company Lowers, Then Withdraws Financial Outlook for 2025

5 hours ago

FDA and RFK Jr. Aim to Remove Ingestible Fluoride Products Used to Protect Kids’ Teeth

5 hours ago

Caltrans’ Response to Homeless Encampments Is Lagging, Cities Complain

6 hours ago

Democrats Seeking California Governorship Strut Their Stuff for Union Leaders

6 hours ago

Fresno County DA Wants Teens Tried as Adults in Caleb Quick Murder

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday it will seek to have two 16-year-olds charged in the killing of Caleb Quick prosec...

33 minutes ago

https://www.communitymedical.org/thecause?utm_source=Misfit+Digital&utm_medium=GVWire+Banner+Ads&utm_campaign=Branding+2025&utm_content=thecause
Fresno clovis caleb quick
33 minutes ago

Fresno County DA Wants Teens Tried as Adults in Caleb Quick Murder

36 minutes ago

State Farm Wins First-Ever Emergency Rate Hike in California

1 hour ago

Work Permits Reinstated for UC Merced International Students, Anxiety Persists

1 hour ago

Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery

Fresno police are seeking help identifying a suspect caught on video after a shooting near First Street and Belmont Avenue left one person injured on Sunday. May 11, 2025. (Fresno PD)
2 hours ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help Identifying Shooting Suspect

2 hours ago

MLB Reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, Making Them Hall of Fame Eligible

2 hours ago

Karbassi Running for Fresno County Elections Clerk, Says He Can ‘Do Better’

Eggs are displayed at a supermarket in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., April 13, 2022. Picture taken April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska/File Photo
4 hours ago

Global Eggs Completes Acquisition in US, Closes New Deal in Europe

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend