U.S. stocks rallied on Friday, closing out the week on an upbeat note, led by strong gains in the tech sector.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) finished Friday up 1.9%, though it still closed the week down 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) increased 1.0% on Friday. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) closed up 2.9%, its biggest one-day gain since the end of November.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 3.482% from 3.397% Thursday. The dollar index was little changed.
The moves up Friday closed out what had been a rough week for Wall Street. Stocks had extended a string of losses Thursday as investors dissected economic data and corporate earnings reports, clouding their views of the health of the U.S. economy.
Despite concerns about the economy, markets have been fairly resilient and moved mostly higher this year, according to the U.S. Market Intelligence team at JP Morgan. However, the team doesn’t believe a recession is currently priced in in equity markets.
“We do not agree with the argument that because a recession is consensus,” the team wrote, "The market and economic outcome have to be better.”
The S&P 500 is expected to report a year-over-year decline in earnings of 3.9% for the fourth quarter, according to data from FactSet Research. This would mark the first year-over-year decline in earnings reported by the index since 2020 if realized.
Wall Street navigated another round of data and Fedspeak toward the end of the week that provided mixed signals on the central bank's next move. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said Thursday the central bank has more rate hikes ahead “to bring inflation down to our 2% goal on a sustained basis.”
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard and Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins expressed similar remarks Thursday ahead of the Fed's next monetary policy meeting, which starts Jan. 31.
However, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker repeated his view on Friday morning to shift to 25-basis-point rate hikes, while Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said Friday that he too favors a quarter-percentage-point interest rate increase at the next meeting.
On the economic front, sales of previously owned US homes fell for the 11th consecutive month in December, extending the record decline further as high mortgage rates and limited inventory stifled affordability.
Contract closings decreased 1.5% from November's reading, to an annualized pace of 4.02 million last month, according to data from the National Association of Realtors on Friday. The number of homes available for sale fell to 970,000 in the month, with the median selling price 2.3% from a year earlier.
In corporate news, Netflix (NFLX) CEO Reed Hastings announced Thursday that he is stepping down. After a two-decade run, he’s leaving the streaming platform in the hands of co-CEO Ted Sarandos and COO Greg Peters after reporting a strong end of 2022.
And the era of password sharing will soon end. The streaming giant will be enforcing password-sharing rules “more broadly” toward the end of the first quarter of 2023, Netflix announced in its earnings report on Thursday. Shares jumped nearly 8% Friday.
Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL), meanwhile, said it’s laying off 12,000 workers, or more than 6% of its global workforce, becoming the latest tech company to trim staff after rapid expansions during the pandemic. Google parent Alphabet Inc. shares added nearly 6% on Friday.
Fanatics is in talks to acquire the BetParx sportsbook, CNBC reported. The company is looking to expand its footprint in the sports betting industry.
In the commodities market, oil prices ticked up. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose nearly 1.3% to $83.99 a barrel, and WTI, the US benchmark, added 1.45% to settle at about $81.78. Both ended the week with another gain, driven by optimism about demand rebound in China.
Meanwhile, in the crypto market, Genesis Global Capital filed for bankruptcy protection late Thursday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The move comes after the company could not raise cash for its troubled lending unit and cut 30% of staff in a fresh round of layoffs in early January.
—
Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @daniromerotv
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube
Related Quotes
Wall Street was mixed last week due to tepid earnings and moderate interest rate backdrop.
The UK’s FTSE 100 benchmark index was off to a positive start this week.
Yahoo Finance Live’s Brad Smith breaks down how stocks are moving after the opening bell.
Apple CEO Tim Cook didn’t sell any stock during a volatile 2022. Other top executives at the iPhone maker sold more by dollar volume in 2022 than the previous year.
The GOP in Nebraska and Washington state have endorsed California attorney Harmeet Dhillon’s challenge to replace Ronna McDaniel as chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC). The Nebraska Republican Party voted to 62-41 to have state Chair Eric Underwood cast his ballot for Dhillon for the top RNC spot, the Norfolk Daily News reported in…
Investors are especially charged up about fuel cell specialist Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) though. As of 11:14 a.m. ET, shares of Plug Power are up 7.8%. Investors are particularly interested in the announcement since Plug Power and Nikola inked a hydrogen supply agreement in December.
Zacks.com users have recently been watching Catalyst (CPRX) quite a bit. Thus, it is worth knowing the facts that could determine the stock's prospects.
Barclays has some advice for semiconductor investors today — but I think you should do the opposite.
When it comes to the stock market, sometimes the largest gains can be had by buying shares of quality companies after they've suffered steep price declines. Amazon's stock price was cut in half. The macroeconomic challenges that have dented Amazon's profitability are likely to prove temporary.
In this article, we discuss 11 most undervalued natural gas stocks to buy according to hedge funds. If you want to see more stocks in this selection, check out 5 Most Undervalued Natural Gas Stocks To Buy According To Hedge Funds. In 2022, the oil and gas industry experienced exceptional financial success, resulting in a […]
George Gianarikas, Canaccord Genuity Managing Director, explains why investors should buy Tesla stocks ahead of its Q4 earnings. You can see the entire interview here. Key takeaways 00:03: why it's 'simple' you should buy Tesla into earnings 00:36: The big 'question mark' going into earnings
Yahoo Finance Live anchors discuss Barclays upgrading its outlook on AMD and Qualcomm.
Wall Street moved slightly lower during the third trading week of 2023. My "three stocks to avoid," which I thought were going to lose to the market in the past week — Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY), Alcoa (NYSE: AA), and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) — plunged 8%, dipped 7%, and closed flat, respectively, averaging out to a 5% decline.
Investors need to pay close attention to Lumen (LUMN) stock based on the movements in the options market lately.
Palm Valley Capital Management, an investment management firm, released its fourth quarter 2022 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. In the fourth quarter, Palm Valley Capital Fund returned 3.86% compared to a 9.19% rise for the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and an 8.05% return for the Morningstar Small Cap Index. A […]
Hamilton Reiner co-manages the $18.7 billion JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF and explains his strategy
When the curtain closed on 2022, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average, widely followed S&P 500, and growth-dependent Nasdaq Composite, respectively finished lower by 9%, 19%, and 33%. It was, collectively, the worst performance for Wall Street in 14 years. This is why most analyst price targets point to upside in equities.
Investors need to pay close attention to Silvergate (SI) stock based on the movements in the options market lately.
In this article, we will take a look at the 12 52-week low dividend stocks to consider. You can skip this part and go to 5 52-Week Low Dividend Stocks To Consider. Dividend investing came into limelight in 2022 after the stock market began to fall amid rising inflation, interest rate hikes, and an uncertain […]
Yahoo Finance Live’s Brad Smith discusses how stocks are moving in early trading.
Stock market news live updates: Nasdaq jumps 2.7% as tech leads Friday stock rally – Yahoo Finance
