Wall Street on Friday closed lower as investors assessed economic data and awaited a potential 50-basis point interest rate increase by the US Federal Reserve at its policy meeting next week, while apparel company Lululemon Athletica Inc slumped following a disappointing profit forecast.
US producer prices last month rose slightly more than expected amid a jump in the costs of services, but the trend is moderating, with annual inflation at the factory gate posting its smallest increase in more than one year, US government data showed.
“Today’s data shows that inflation is coming down, but it’s lingering and is stickier than most assume,” said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Troy, Michigan.
However, consumer sentiment improved this month, while inflation expectations eased to a 15-month low, a University of Michigan survey showed.
RATE ESTIMATES
Futures trades suggest a 77 percent chance the the Fed would raise interest rates by 50 basis points next week, with a 23 percent chance of a 75-basis point hike, with those odds little changed after Friday’s economic data.
Photo: AP
Consumer price data for last month, due on Tuesday, are to provide fresh clues on the central bank’s monetary tightening plans.
Lululemon tumbled almost 13 percent after the Canadian athletic apparel maker forecast lower-than-expected holiday-quarter revenue and profit.
Netflix Inc gained 3.1 percent after Wells Fargo upgraded the video streaming giant to “overweight” from “equal weight.”
The S&P 500 declined 0.73 percent to end the session at 3,934.38 points.
The NASDAQ declined 0.7 percent to 11,004.62 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.90 percent to 33,476.46 points.
Of the 11 S&P 500 sector indices, 10 declined, led lower by energy, down 2.33 percent, followed by a 1.28 percent loss in healthcare.
The energy index recorded a seventh straight session of losses, its longest losing streak since December 2018, as oil prices looked set for weekly losses on recession concerns.
Wall Street’s main indices have fallen this week after logging two straight weekly gains. Weighing heavily on investors are fears of a potential recession next year due to extended rate increases by the Fed.
For the week, the S&P 500 dropped 3.4 percent, the Dow lost 2.8 percent and the NASDAQ shed 4 percent.
US stocks on Thursday ended a recent run of losses, after government data showed that initial jobless claims rose modestly last week.
BROADCOM, BOEING
Broadcom Inc jumped 2.6 percent after the chipmaker forecast current-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates.
Boeing Co climbed 0.3 percent after a Reuters report that the planemaker is planning to announce a deal with United Airlines Holdings Inc for orders of 787 Dreamliner jets next week.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 by a 3.3-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted five new highs and one new low, while the NASDAQ recorded 54 new highs and 213 new lows.
Volume on US exchanges was relatively light, with 9.9 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 10.9 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
TECH PARTNERSHIP: The deal with Arizona-based Amkor would provide TSMC with advanced packing and test capacities, a requirement to serve US customers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is collaborating with Amkor Technology Inc to provide local advanced packaging and test capacities in Arizona to address customer requirements for geographical flexibility in chip manufacturing. As part of the agreement, TSMC, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, would contract turnkey advanced packaging and test services from Amkor at their planned facility in Peoria, Arizona, a joint statement released yesterday said. TSMC would leverage these services to support its customers, particularly those using TSMC’s advanced wafer fabrication facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, it said. The companies would jointly define the specific packaging technologies, such as TSMC’s Integrated
China’s economic planning agency yesterday outlined details of measures aimed at boosting the economy, but refrained from major spending initiatives. The piecemeal nature of the plans announced yesterday appeared to disappoint investors who were hoping for bolder moves, and the Shanghai Composite Index gave up a 10 percent initial gain as markets reopened after a weeklong holiday to end 4.59 percent higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dived 9.41 percent. Chinese National Development and Reform Commission Chairman Zheng Shanjie (鄭珊潔) said the government would frontload 100 billion yuan (US$14.2 billion) in spending from the government’s budget for next year in addition
Sales RecORD: Hon Hai’s consolidated sales rose by about 20 percent last quarter, while Largan, another Apple supplier, saw quarterly sales increase by 17 percent IPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) on Saturday reported its highest-ever quarterly sales for the third quarter on the back of solid global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) globally, said it posted NT$1.85 trillion (US$57.93 billion) in consolidated sales in the July-to-September quarter, up 19.46 percent from the previous quarter and up 20.15 percent from a year earlier. The figure beat the previous third-quarter high of NT$1.74 trillion recorded in 2022, company data showed. Due to rising demand for AI, Hon Hai said its cloud and networking division enjoyed strong sales
Protectionism: US trade chief Katherine Tai said the hikes would help to counter unfair trade practices from China, while boosting domestic clean energy investments US Trade Representative Katherine Tai (戴琪) defended stiff tariff hikes against countries such as China, saying that paired with investment, they were a “legitimate and constructive” tool for reinvigorating domestic industries. Tai’s comments come a week after sharp tariff increases on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs), EV batteries and solar cells took effect — with levies down the line on other products also recently finalized. The latest moves targeting US$18 billion in Chinese goods come weeks before next month’s US presidential election, with Democrats and Republicans pushing a hard line on China as competition between Washington and Beijing intensifies. In an interview on Thursday