NEW YORK (awp international) – On a Friday that was relatively robust for extended periods, investors in U.S. stocks retreated in late trading. Although producer-level price increases have again caused uncertainty, the movements have remained moderate for a long time. By closing time, however, investors ran out of risk ahead of next week’s big events.
The Dow Jones Industrial finished the weekend down 0.90% at 33,476.46 points. He raised his minus over the week to 2.8%.
The market-wide S&P 500 lost 0.73% on Friday to 3934.38 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.64% to 11,563.33 points. Its weekly minus increased to 3.6%.
Producer prices, which slowed less than expected in November, bode well for the CPI release next week. Pressure remains on the US Federal Reserve to significantly raise interest rates. So far, observers still assume that the US Federal Reserve will slow its rate of rate hike on Wednesday.
Adding to investors’ concerns was the surprising improvement in US consumer confidence in December. Such signs of economic strength could provide the Fed with the argument that the economy can weather further significant interest rate hikes – and are therefore currently often seen as counterproductive to stocks.
On the corporate side, the big news came from Nasdaq stocks. Contrary to market weakness, shares of Netflix rose 3.1% after US bank Wells Fargo issued a stock recommendation for the streaming service. The price has moved up to the highest level since the April price drop, which may now be leveled soon. In his study, analyst Steven Cahall positioned himself very optimistically for 2023 with renewed improvement in subscriber development.
Broadcom shares rose 2.6%. The semiconductor company posted strong results in its fiscal fourth quarter and expects revenue for the current fiscal first quarter to exceed consensus estimates. UBS’s Timothy Arcuri saw this as evidence of the firm’s strong positioning in a challenging competitive environment.
However, DocuSign climbed to the top of the Nasdaq 100, with the stock up 12.4%. The software company specializing in electronic signatures reported adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal third quarter that nearly quadrupled the average analyst estimate.
On the weak side of the Nasdaq, Lululemon shares fell nearly 13% after the release of earnings results. The sports and yoga apparel maker had underwhelmed its profitability in its most recent business quarter. Even the prospects for the last quarter did not seem convincing compared to market expectations.
The euro, which had at times approached US$1.06, recently fell to US$1.0530. The European Central Bank set its key rate at $1.0559 (Thursday: $1.0519). The dollar therefore cost 0.9471 euros.
US Treasury bill prices have fallen. The 10-year bond futures contract fell 0.38% to 114.00 points. Conversely, the yield on 10-year government bonds rose to 3.59%. It was approaching the previous weekly high of 3.61%.
— By Timo Hausdorf, dpa-AFX —
