[New York Stock Market] Mixed Close Awaiting CPI... Nasdaq Down 0.61%

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] Major indices of the U.S. New York stock market closed mixed on Friday, the 10th (local time), as investors watched corporate earnings reports ahead of next week's Consumer Price Index (CPI) announcement.

On the day at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,869.27, up 169.39 points (0.50%) from the previous session. The S&P 500 index rose 8.96 points (0.22%) to 4,090.46. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 71.46 points (0.61%) at 11,718.12.

On a weekly basis, all three major indices declined. The Nasdaq's drop reached 2.41%. The Dow fell 0.17%, and the S&P 500 declined 1.11%.

Within the S&P 500, discretionary consumer goods, communication, and technology sectors showed weakness. The other eight sectors all rose. Energy-related stocks gained about 4% supported by rising oil prices. Lyft plunged more than 36% due to first-quarter revenue guidance falling short of market expectations. Expedia also dropped over 8% following disappointing earnings.

Investors closely monitored corporate earnings reports and concerns over monetary tightening on Friday. After a week of hawkish remarks from the Federal Reserve (Fed) weighing on the market, investors awaited next week's scheduled Consumer Price Index (CPI) release.

Short-term inflation expectations rebounded on the day, rekindling concerns about prolonged tightening. The University of Michigan reported that the median one-year inflation expectation rose to 4.2% from 3.9% the previous month. Additionally, the February consumer sentiment index reached 66.4, the highest in 13 months, improving from 64.9 in the prior month. This indicates strengthened consumer confidence in economic recovery.

According to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) FedWatch, the federal funds (FF) rate futures market reflects a 90.8% probability that the Fed will raise the benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points in March. The chance of an additional 0.25 percentage point hike in May also slightly increased to the mid-70% range compared to the previous day.

Corporate earnings have been mixed by company. According to Earnings Scout, about 70% of companies listed on the S&P 500 have reported earnings so far, with 70% of those beating quarterly net income estimates. However, this is below the three-year average of 79%.

Investors are concerned about negative first-quarter earnings guidance. According to FactSet, among companies that have reported earnings so far, 58 have issued negative profit forecasts for the first quarter of this year.

Oil prices rose. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, March delivery West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed at $79.72 per barrel, up $1.66 (2.13%) from the previous session.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.