Stocks are little changed after Nasdaq gets first record close in more than two years: Live updates – CNBC
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on Aug. 4, 2022.
Source: NYSE
Stocks were flat Friday after the market wrapped up its fourth straight winning month and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite reached its first closing record since November 2021.
The Nasdaq was up 0.2%, while the S&P 500 was unchanged. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 135 points, or about 0.7%.
The tech-heavy index was the last of the major U.S. stock benchmarks to reach a record close this year — when it achieved the milestone Thursday. This move has been fueled by enthusiasm over artificial intelligence, which has lifted mega-cap tech stocks – and the broader market – through 2023 and into this year. Slowing inflation, and the Federal Reserve’s ensuing pivot toward rate cuts forecasted for later in 2024, have also contributed the Nasdaq’s recovery from a difficult 2022.
The Nasdaq Composite over the last five years
On a weekly basis, the S&P 500, which also popped to a record close on Thursday, is tracking for a roughly 0.2% advance, while the Nasdaq is up 0.6%. This puts the two indexes on pace for their seventh positive week over the last eight. The 30-stock Dow is the laggard, down nearly 0.4%.
Major averages ended another positive month as the rally driven by an artificial intelligence boom and hopes for rate cuts chugged along. The Nasdaq was the best performer in February with a 6.1% gain. The S&P 500 climbed 5.2%, while the Dow added 2.2% for its first four-month winning streak since May 2021.
“We’re still firmly in the disinflationary camp and think the Fed will be forced to cut rates by June,” Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge, said in a note.
Troubled regional bank New York Community Bancorp declined 28% after the lender announced a leadership change and disclosed issues with its internal controls. The bank is already down more than 67% in 2024.
Data released Thursday showed the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge, rose 0.4% in January, in line with expectations.
The interest rate outlook will be ‘top of mind’ in the coming weeks, Barclays says
How the Federal Reserve will proceed with interest rates will be “top of mind” for investors in the coming weeks ahead of the March meeting, according to Barclays.
Stocks are off to a strong start this year. All three of the major averages have notched record highs as markets shrugged off concerns of uneven inflation and the interest rate outlook. But the macro picture will come further into focus this month as investors move past the fourth-quarter earnings season to digest some major labor and inflation reports.
“The forward path for rates clearly remains top of mind with February employment and inflation data appearing as the next macro overhangs for equities,” Venu Krishna wrote in a Friday note.
“March FOMC is the most closely watched catalyst of all; while overly dovish expectations were reset by Fed messaging over the last several weeks, equities will be attuned to any recalibration in central bank rhetoric,” Krishna added.
— Sarah Min
S&P 500, Nasdaq inch higher Friday
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite inched higher to start Friday’s trading session.
The broad market index added 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.8%.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched down 12 points, or 0.05%.
— Hakyung Kim
Fed’s Barkin downplays January inflation data but doesn’t call for quick rate cut
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on “Squawk Box” that he was not going to extrapolate too much from a hot January inflation reading because the first month of the year tends to produce unreliable data.
“I’ve tried to discipline myself not to look at January too closely,” Barkin said.
The FOMC voting member said that inflation appears to be uneven across different sectors in the economy, with declines in areas like used cars helping to offset price increases elsewhere. Barkin did say that companies are probably running out of room to hike prices after many did so aggressively in the wake of the Covid pandemic.
“I definitely think we’re on the back end of that journey,” Barkin said.
When asked whether he wanted to cut rates soon, Barkin said he’d rely on the economic data to make the decisions about what to do about the Fed’s benchmark rate.
“I’m never in a hurry to make any decision. We’ll get to the meeting. We’ll see what we learn,” Barkin said.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq head for winnings weeks; Dow lags
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were on track to end the week higher with just one trading day left.
The broad S&P 500 has added about 0.2% this week. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 0.6% gain.
On the other hand, the Dow diverged. The blue-chip average was on pace to end the week around 0.4% lower.
— Alex Harring
New York Community Bank tumbles after disclosing ‘internal controls’ issue
Shares of New York Community Bank lost nearly 30% after the bank disclosed issues with its internal controls and announced a change in leadership.
“As part of management’s assessment of the Company’s internal controls, management identified material weaknesses in the Company’s internal controls related to internal loan review, resulting from ineffective oversight, risk assessment and monitoring activities,” NYCB said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
NYCB also said Executive Chairman Alessandro DiNello will take over as president and CEO, effective immediately.
NYCB falls
— Fred Imbert
Europe opens in positive territory
South Korean exports growth surges on strong chip demand
South Korean exports in February rose 4.8% from a year earlier to $52.41 billion, beating Reuters’ estimates of a 1.9% increase, on strong demand for its semiconductors, preliminary government data showed.
The export print compares to a 18% growth in January. Overall, imports fell by 13.1%, steeper than estimates of a 10.4% drop.
“The ICT cycle (Information and Communications Technology cycle) is on an upturn,” said Trinh Nguyen, senior economist at Natixis. “With the manufacturing cycle returning to to growth in the U.S., that should support South Korea,” she added.
—Lee Ying Shan
Japan’s February factory activity contracts at fastest pace in over three years
Japan’s February factory activity shrank at the fastest pace in more than three years on the back of weakening demand.
The au Jibun Bank’s flash Japan manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to to 47.2 in February, compared with January’s 48.0 reading, indicating continued contraction in private sector business activity.
The reading signals a ninth consecutive deterioration in business activity and the strongest contraction recorded since August 2020, according to au Jibun Bank.
Japan’s benchmark index has continued to extend its rally after surging to an all-time high last week. The Nikkei 225 was trading 1.83% higher at 39,883.86 in Friday morning trading.
—Lee Ying Shan
China manufacturing contracts for fifth straight month, official data shows
Workers make charging equipment for new energy vehicles at a workshop of Shandong Dingsheng Electric Equipment in Zaozhuang, east China’s Shandong province.
Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images
China’s manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in February, official figures on Friday showed, which were at odds with a private survey that signaled factory activity expanded.
Data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed manufacturing PMI fell to 49.1 in February from 49.2 in January. The reading was in line with a Reuters poll estimate.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI, however, edged up to 50.9 in February from 50.8 in the previous month.
A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below that denotes a contraction.
“Companies noted further upturns in both production and new work, with rates of growth quickening slightly from January, helped in part by a rise in new export orders,” the private Caixin survey read.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
India’s third-quarter economic growth soars past expectations
A pedestrian watches a digital screen at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in Mumbai on February 1, 2022.
Punit Paranjpe | Afp | Getty Images
India’s economy grew much faster than expected in the October to December quarter, and at its fastest pace in six quarters.
Data showed GDP grew 8.4% in the third fiscal quarter, blowing past Reuters Poll expectations of 6.6% growth, on the back of higher private consumption and strong manufacturing and construction activity.
The October-December quarter reading was also higher than the 7.6% growth clocked in the prior three months.
The Indian government raised its GDP growth outlook for fiscal year 2023-24 to 7.6% from 7.3% forecast earlier.
The data also boosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic record ahead of a highly anticipated national election.
“For PM Modi and BJP who will be going to the polls in April-May, it will yet provide another boost. For RBI (Reserve Bank of India), the strong growth momentum will only reinforce their bias to stay on hold at 6.5% for the foreseeable future,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note.
— Shreyashi Sanyal
Ray Dalio says the U.S. stock market ‘doesn’t look very bubbly’
Billionaire investor Ray Dalio believes the U.S. stock market is not in a speculative bubble.
The founder of Bridgewater, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, analyzed the market based on his bubble criteria, which includes valuation, sentiment, new buyers and unsustainable conditions.
“When I look at the U.S. stock market using these criteria, it — and even some of the parts that have rallied the most and gotten media attention — doesn’t look very bubbly,” he said in a new LinkedIn post published Thursday.
— Yun Li
Dell shares soar 20% after strong earnings
Shares of Dell Technologies jumped more than 18% in extended trading after the tech company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Dell also showed strong demand for its artificial intelligence servers.
Chief Financial Officer Yvonne McGill said the company is increasing its annual dividend by 20% to $1.78 per share, which she called a “testament to our confidence in the business.”
— Yun Li
