Pedestrians pass the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021, in New York. Stocks are inching higher in early trading on Wall Street Friday, Aug. 20, but not enough to erase their losses from the week. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
By Alex Veiga
Technology companies led stocks broadly higher on Wall Street Friday, though the gains were not enough to erase the market's losses from earlier in the week.
The S&P 500 index rose 0.8%, but still posted a weekly loss of 0.6% after two weeks of gains. Even so, the benchmark index is less than 1% from the all-time high it set Monday.
More than 80% of S&P 500 companies notched gains, including tech sector stocks. Microsoft rose 2.6% and chipmaker Nvidia gained 5.1% for the biggest gain in the index. A mix of companies that rely on consumer spending and communications stocks also made up a big share of the rally. Energy stocks also rose, despite another decline in the price of U.S. crude oil. Treasury yields mostly rose.
Investors turned cautious this week following some disappointing economic reports on retail sales, housing and consumer sentiment. Escalating coronavirus infections across the U.S. and around the globe due to the highly contagious delta variant have also given traders reason to pause with the market near all-time highs.
“Today was the first day that the market didn’t have to deal with disappointing economic data,” said Willie Delwiche, investment strategist at All Star Charts. “We also need to remember it's a Friday in August, not typically an environment where we look for big signals out of the market.”
The S&P 500 rose 35.87 points to 4,441.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 225.96 points, or 0.7%, to 35,120.08. The Nasdaq composite picked up 172.87 points, or 1.2%, to 14,714.66. The Dow and Nasdaq also posted weekly losses.
Small company stocks recovered some of their losses from earlier in the week. The Russell 2000 index added 35.18 points, or 1.7%, to 2,167.60. The index still finished with a 2.5% weekly drop.
Bond trading was quiet. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.26% from 1.24% late Thursday.
With earnings season winding down, investors got to see quarterly report cards from mostly retailers this week. On Friday, Ross Stores fell 2.7%, the biggest decline among S&P 500 companies, after issuing a full-year forecast that fell short of Wall Street’s expectations. Foot Locker jumped 7.3% after blowing past analysts’ forecasts for its latest quarter.
Fund managers aren’t expecting much volatility this month as investors will have little data to work with. August also tends to be a popular time for investors to take vacations, so trading volume typically declines. September tends to be a much more volatile month once Wall Street is back to work.
Still, next week could provide Wall Street with more insight on what the Federal Reserve may do about inflation. Earlier this week, minutes from the most recent Fed meeting showed that officials had discussed reducing the central bank's bond-buying program later this year to start winding down some of the emergency measures that were implemented during the pandemic. But they stopped short of setting a firm timeline.
The Fed's annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming next week could offer hints on when such tapering may begin.
“From a historical perspective, the Fed doesn't make news in its minutes, but it does tend to set out policy shifts at its symposium,” Delwiche said.
Michele Schneider, Partner and Director of Trading Research & Education for MarketGauge, breaks down the major risks to the markets and discusses why tech and Agriculture are the best sectors to hedge inflation concerns.
Bitcoin took a nosedive over the weekend, falling to its lowest price level in nearly two months. According to data from Coindesk, the crypto dropped more than 20% to $42,000 on Saturday before rebounding some. Prices of Ether, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu dropped as well, with Ether tumbling by more than 15%at one point. Lance Ippolito, head trader at the Future of Wealth, joined Cheddar to discuss why crypto plummeted and what to expect next.
Less than six months after making its public debut on the NYSE, Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi says it will delist in the U.S. and pivot to Hong Kong instead. Chinese regulators are citing cybersecurity and data concerns. Shehzad Qazi, Managing Director, China Beige Book International joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
As offices shifted to remote schedules, and people were forced into a new way of work, many began to re-think their career path and their purpose in the workforce, leading to what many are calling 'The Great Resignation.' During the last year, Americans quit their jobs in unprecedented numbers, seeking more flexibility, better benefits, a higher salary, and ultimately greater independence. Danielle Neal, CEO of Digital with Danielle, is just one of the millions who quit their job during the pandemic, and she joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to tell her story.
As Americans quit their jobs in record numbers this year, companies have been scrambling to try and fill those gaps. Gad Levanon, head of the labor market institute at The Conference Board, says companies need to focus more on salary if they want to better retain their employees. Levanon joined Cheddar to discuss the labor shortage, the "Great Resignation," and what companies can learn from it going into 2022.
The U.S. has seen several retailers across the country forced to close their brick-and-mortar stores amid the rise of e-commerce over the past few years. However, we are in the midst of a brick-and-mortar boom, with retailers expected to open more stores this year than they close, for the first time since 2017, according to an analysis of more than 900 chains by IHL Group, a research and advisory company. At the same time, the e-commerce businesses of retailers have become more dependent on physical stores to fulfill orders, especially during the holiday shopping season. Lionesque Group CEO Melissa Gonzalez joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Stocks closed higher Tuesday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq marking their best day since March. Tech stocks and chipmakers were on the move, lifting the Nasdaq higher as investors shake off recent COVID-19 omicron variant fears. Chris Konstantinos, Chief Investment Strategist at RiverFront Investment Group, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss today's close, investor sentiment around COVID-19, inflation's impact on markets, and more.
Alyse Killeen, Founder & Managing Partner at Stillmark VC, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what the jury had to evaluate in the Craig Wright trial and if uncovering the identity of Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto will actually impact crypto investors.
Heila Technologies, a startup that develops hardware and software to integrate renewables and batteries on a microgrid, is helping to power the first clean energy microgrid for Auto Mercado, a top supermarket chain in Costa Rica. The plant will reduce 20 tons of CO2 emissions per year. Heila Technologies CEO Francisco Morocz joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
GitLab CFO Brian Robins joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to discuss the single platform software development app's first earnings report since going public in October. The company frames itself as a one-stop-shop for businesses to transition into software development to manage in-network chat, video conferencing, and meeting scheduling among other applications. GitLab saw Q3 revenue jump 58 percent and was able to add a number of new customers since its IPO.
