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Stock Market News for Apr 17, 2023

U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday as investors assessed a batch of mixed economic data and hawkish comments from a Fed official that hinted at another interest rate hike, dampening spirits at the start of the first-quarter earnings season. All three major indexes ended in negative territory but closed the week higher.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slid 0.4% or 143.22 points to end at 33,886.37 points.

The S&P 500 declined 0.2% or 8.58 points to close at 4,137.64 points. Utilities, real estate and healthcare stocks were the worst performers.

The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) lost 1.1% and 1.7%, respectively. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) declined 0.8%. Eight of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.

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The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.4% or 42.81 points to finish at 12,123.47 points.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 4.10% to 17.07. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.01-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 2.07-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 9.98 billion shares were traded on Friday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.31 billion.

Interest Rate Hike, Recession Worries Grow

Wall Street ended lower on Friday as weak retail sales data showed spending declined further in March. Consumer spending fell double than expected. However, the miss has a lot to do with lower gasoline prices. Inflation has been declining lately but it can reverse any time if gas prices climb.

Inflation data released earlier in the week showed a decline in wholesale prices. However, what is even more worrying is that core consumer price inflation remains stubbornly high, which rose 5.6% year over year in March.

If the weak economic data wasn’t enough, Fed Governor Christopher Waller’s comments further dampened investors’ spirit. Waller said during a speech, “Because financial conditions have not significantly tightened, the labor market continues to be strong and quite tight, and inflation is far above target, so monetary policy needs to be tightened further.”

This almost assured investors that the Fed would go for another steep rate hike in its next policy meeting in May.

Also, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee painted a grim picture of the economy by saying that the nation’s economy could slip into a recession.

The mixed economic data coupled with hawkish comments from the Fed officials weighed on stocks at the beginning of the earnings season. The earnings season has started on an impressive note, with a series of big U.S. banks reporting their quarterly results for the first time since regional banks including Silicon Valley Bank failed last month.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) came up with an earnings and revenue beat. The bank reported first-quarter 2023 earnings of $4.10 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.41 per share. JPMorgan Chase Bank has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Wells Fargo (WFC) also reported impressive quarterly results. Wells Fargo came up with quarterly earnings of $1.23 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.15 per share.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) also reported an earnings beat. UnitedHealth Group reported first-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings of $6.26 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.24.

Economic Data

Among the most important economic data released on Friday, retail sales declined 1% month over month in March, which was double the economists’ expectations of a decline of 0.5%.

In other economic data released on Friday, the preliminary Michigan Consumer Sentiment survey showed that consumers’ outlook rose to 63.5 in April after declining for four straight months.

Weekly Roundup

All three major indexes recorded gains for the week. The Dow closed 1.2% higher for the week, recording its fourth straight weekly gains. The S&P 500 ended the week 0.8% higher. The Nasdaq rose 0.3% for the week.

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