Stocks fell on Wall Street on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting its largest one-day drop in almost seven weeks as concerns about rising interest rates and the Federal Reserve’s attempts to combat inflation.
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Several firms’ poor earnings results also rattled the market’s major pillar of support.
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The S&P 500 fell 2.8%, marking the third consecutive week of losses. After momentarily falling more than 1,000 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.8%, its largest decline in 18 months. The Nasdaq suffered its lowest day in over seven weeks, falling 2.6%.
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The S&P 500 fell 121.88 points to 4,271.78. The Dow dropped 981.36 points to 33,811.40. The Nasdaq lost 335.36 points, closing at 12,839.29. The Dow and Nasdaq also posted losses for the week.
Smaller company stocks also fell sharply. The Russell 2000 slid 50.80 points, or 2.6%, to 1,940.66.
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A preliminary report on Friday indicated the U.S. services industry’s growth is slowing, hurt in particular by surging costs for fuel, wages and other expenses.
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Treasury yields have soared as investors prepare for a more aggressive Fed, and stocks have often moved in the opposite direction of them. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 2.90% from 2.91% late Thursday but remains close to its highest level since 2018. It began the year at 1.51%.
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The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more on expectations for Fed action on short-term rates, has zoomed even more. It was at 2.69% late Friday after more than tripling from 0.73% at the start of the year.
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On Wall Street, most stocks fell, including more than 95% of the companies in the S&P 500. Technology and health care companies were among the biggest weights. Apple fell 2.8% and Microsoft dropped 2.4%.
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HCA Healthcare slumped 21.8% for the biggest decline in the S&P 500 after reporting weaker earnings per share for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The hospital operator also cut its forecasted ranges for revenue and earnings this year.
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Verizon Communications slid 5.6% after it said it expects earnings for the year to fall at the lower end of the range it had previously forecast. The company also reported slightly weaker revenue than expected for the first three months of the year.
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Retailer Gap sank 18% after it cut its forecast for sales for the current fiscal quarter and said the CEO of its Old Navy business will leave the company.