S&P Backtracks, Still Heads for 4th Winning Week
Stocks fell on Friday as investors took some money off the table into a long weekend following a new S&P 500 record and solid Nvidia earnings this week. New inflation data showed rising prices was still at risk heading into the new month.
The Dow Jones Industrials retreated 170.63 points to begin Friday at 45,466.27.
The broader index lost 41.25 points to 6,460.61, though it’s still on pace to see its fourth winning month in a row.
The NASDAQ doffed 219.44 points, or 1%, to 21,484.68.
Even with Friday’s losses, the indexes are on track to close out August with solid gains. The 30-stock Dow has logged a more than 3% advance in August, while the S&P 500 has tallied a nearly 2% advance. The tech-heavy NASDAQ has seen an August gain of almost 2%.
Core PCE, a key inflation measure watched by the Federal Reserve which excludes the costs of food and energy, increased 2.9% in July, in-line with expectations but an acceleration from the prior month and the highest level since February.
Nvidia was among Friday’s key laggards, as shares extended their recent losses with a fall of 3%. That comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese e-ecommerce giant Alibaba has created a more advanced chip as it looks to fill the gap left by Nvidia running into issues around selling its chips in China. U.S. shares of Alibaba were up 9%.
Nvidia finished slightly lower on Thursday after reporting strong 56% revenue growth for the prior quarter and largely validating the AI trade for investors.
Additionally, Caterpillar shares lost 2% after the company warned it could see a $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion hit this year due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Caterpillar’s not alone, as Gap also recently said that tariffs will weigh on profits. Those two updates could also be hurting sentiment Friday, Mayfield pointed out.
Prices for 10-year Treasury gained ground Thursday, weighing yields to 4.22% from Thursday’s 4.20%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices shed 54 cents to $64.06 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $25.10 at $3,499.40 U.S. an ounce.
