In this Feb. 16, 2021 file photo, pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange in New York. Stocks were moving lower in the first hour of trading Friday, March 19, as bond yields continued to rise. Bank stocks fell after the Federal Reserve announced it would end some of its emergency measures put into place for the industry last year to help deal with the pandemic. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
By Damian J. Troise and Alex Veiga
Stocks are closing mostly lower on Wall Street Friday. The S&P 500 lost 0.1% to end with its first weekly loss in the last three. Bank stocks fell after the Federal Reserve announced it would end some emergency measures put in place for the industry last year to help deal with the pandemic. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.7%, falling for a second-straight week. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury edged higher. FedEx shares soared to a three-month high after the package delivery giant reported strong third-quarter earnings.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story appears below.
Stocks edged higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street Friday as bond yields pulled back slightly from their climb.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.2% as of 2:30 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 130points, or 0.4%, to 32,731, pulled lower by financial companies. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.8%.
Bank stocks fell after the Federal Reserve announced it would end some emergency measures put into place for the industry last year to help deal with the pandemic.
The S&P 500 index is on track for its first weekly loss in the last three. As interest rates have risen, pricier stocks like technology companies have fallen.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note slipped to 1.72% from 1.73% late Thursday, easing off its continued climb. The security is used to price a multitude of financial products, like the traditional 30-year mortgage, and higher interest rates have given investors some concern that it may slow economic growth.
There are also concerns that the rise in bond yields could be a harbinger of inflation. Fed officials said earlier this week that they may let the U.S. economy “run hot” for some time in order to not stymie the economic recovery as the pandemic eases.
On Friday the Fed announced it would end some of the emergency measures put in place during the pandemic. It will restore some of the capital requirements for big banks that were suspended in the early months of the pandemic, in order to give banks flexibility. The banking industry had hoped those measures would be extended.
The announcement briefly raised concerns about more bond selling, but those fears have been tempered, said Barry Bannister, chief equity strategist at Stifel.
“Overall, the very near term concerns are going back to some of the bigger picture questions,” he said. “How high can yields go and what does that mean for stock valuations.”
Big bank stocks were particularly hurt, since the Fed's measures mostly apply to the nation's largest banks. Citigroup fell 0.8%, while Bank of America fell 1.3% and JPMorgan Chase slid 2.7%.
Shares of transportation company FedEx leaped 6% in afternoon trading after the company reported earnings well above analysts' estimates.
Shares of Nike fell by 3.1% after the athletic apparel company said pandemic-caused congestion at ports caused sales to slow in the last quarter.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
