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 3 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

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

DON'T MISS

Pro-Palestinian Protesters at USC Comply With Order to Leave

DON'T MISS

Israel Vows Military Operation ‘in the Very Near Future’ After Latest Hamas Attack

DON'T MISS

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

DON'T MISS

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

DON'T MISS

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

DON'T MISS

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

DON'T MISS

At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign

DON'T MISS

FUSD Trustees Name Misty Her as Interim Superintendent. National Search Yet to Start

UP NEXT

US Employers Scaled Back Hiring in April. How That Could Let the Fed Cut Interest Rates

UP NEXT

Federal Reserve Says Interest Rates Will Stay at Two-Decade High Until Inflation Further Cools

UP NEXT

US Job Openings Dip to Lowest Level in More Than 3 Years

UP NEXT

Tesla’s Stock Leaps on Reports of Chinese Approval for the Company’s Driving Software

UP NEXT

Google Parent Reports Another Quarter of Robust Growth, Rolls Out First-Ever Quarterly Dividend

UP NEXT

$15 a Pack for Cigarettes? It’s Happening in This US City.

UP NEXT

US Growth Slows Sharply Amid High Interest Rates and Inflation

UP NEXT

Slumping California Risks Losing World’s ‘5th Largest Economy’ Title

UP NEXT

About 1 in 4 US Adults Over 50 Say They Expect to Never Retire, an AARP Study Finds

UP NEXT

General Motors Reports Strong First-Quarter Profits as Prices Help Offset Small US Sales Dip

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

16 hours ago

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

2 days ago

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

2 days ago

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

2 days ago

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

2 days ago

At Time of Rising Antisemitism, Holocaust Survivors Take on Denial and Hate in New Digital Campaign

2 days ago

FUSD Trustees Name Misty Her as Interim Superintendent. National Search Yet to Start

Local Education /

2 days ago

Gov. Newsom Appoints Judges for Fresno, Merced Counties

2 days ago

Assemblymember Soria Dodges Questions About Defamation Lawsuit

2 days ago

Israel Briefs US on Evacuation Plan for Palestinians Ahead of Planned Rafah Assault

2 days ago

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel ordered the local offices of Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network to close Sunday, escalating a long-ru...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Israel Orders Al Jazeera to Close Its Local Operation, Seizes Some Equipment

12 hours ago

Pro-Palestinian Protesters at USC Comply With Order to Leave

Photo of Benjamin Netanyahu
12 hours ago

Israel Vows Military Operation ‘in the Very Near Future’ After Latest Hamas Attack

16 hours ago

After Losing Population in Recent Years, California Grows Again. Is That a Good Thing?

2 days ago

Fresno State Announces 2024 Graduate Deans’ Medalists

2 days ago

Yellen Says Threats to Democracy Risk US Economic Growth, an Indirect Jab at Trump

2 days ago

New Sea Route for Gaza Aid on Track. Treating Starving Children Is a Priority

2 days ago

As Border Debate Shifts Right, Sen. Alex Padilla Emerges as Persistent Counterforce for Immigrants

MENU

CONNECT WITH US

Search

Send this to a friend