A Wall Street sign is seen next to surveillance equipment outside the New York Stock Exchange, Oct. 5, 2021, in New York. Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street Friday, Jan. 14, 2022 keeping the S&P 500 on course for its second weekly decline in a row. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
A late-afternoon recovery in technology stocks helped erase most of the market’s losses Friday, but it wasn’t enough to keep major indexes from logging their second losing week in a row. The S&P 500 snuck back into the green in the last few minutes of trading, ending with a gain of 0.1%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.6%. Banks fell. JPMorgan Chase fell 6.1% after reporting that its profits fell 14% in the latest quarter. Traders were also disappointed to see that retail sales sank 1.9% last month.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Stocks fell broadly in afternoon trading trading on Wall Street Friday, keeping the major indexes on pace for their second weekly decline in a row.
The S&P 500 fell 0.5% as of 2:33 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 349 points, or 0.9%, to 35,775 and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%.
Banks were the biggest weight on the market. JPMorgan Chase slumped 6.3% for the biggest decline in the S&P 500 after reporting that its profits fell 14% in the latest quarter from a year earlier as its trading business slumped. Citigroup fell 1.8% after reporting its latest results.
A wide range of retailers and other companies that rely on direct consumer spending also fell following a weak retail sales report for December. Home Depot fell 3.8% and Whirlpool fell 5.2%.
Technology stocks gained ground and tempered the market's losses. Microsoft rose 1.1%
The price of U.S. crude oil rose 2% and helped send energy stocks higher. Chevron rose 1.3%.
Smaller company stocks took some of the heaviest losses, pulling the Russell 2000 index down 1%.
Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.77% from 1.70% late Thursday.
The Commerce Department reported that retail sales sank 1.9% in December after Americans cut their spending in the face of product shortages, rising prices and the onset of the omicron variant.
“That's a lot of bad things to happen in a short amount of time in one of the strongest retail months of the year,” said Robert Cantwell, portfolio manager at Upholdings.
The disappointing retail report is the latest in a series of economic reports this week that has raised concern about inflation and its impact on businesses and consumer spending.
The Labor Department reported on Wednesday that consumer inflation jumped at the fastest pace in nearly 40 years last month, a 7% spike from a year earlier that is increasing household expenses and biting into wage gains. The government agency also reported on Thursday that prices at the wholesale level surged by a record 9.7% for all of 2021.
Rising prices have been prompting businesses to pass more costs on to consumers. Consumers have been pulling back on spending at department stores, restaurants and online as a result of higher prices and supply shortages.
Businesses are also feeling the impact from inflation. Paint maker Sherwin-Williams fell 2.7% after reporting disappointing fourth-quarter earnings because of raw materials costs and supply chain problems. Boston Beer, which makes Sam Adams beer, slumped 10.9% after cutting its earnings forecast because of supply chain problems.
Concerns over persistently rising inflation are also prompting the Federal Reserve to trim its bond purchases and consider raising interest rates earlier and more often than Wall Street had expected less than a year ago.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
