Investors digested conflicting earnings results from big banks and rising inflation as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dipped Thursday, capping a negative week.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.21% to 4,392.59, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.14% to 13,351.08. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 113.36 points to 34,451.23, or 0.33%.
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For the four-day holiday week, the S&P 500 is down 2.13%. The Nasdaq Composite is down 2.63% this week, while the Dow is down 0.78%. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was closed on Friday.
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The market’s moves came as inflation took centre stage in investors’ minds this week. Treasury yields climbed higher, and two back-to-back U.S. inflation reports showed sharply rising prices. On Thursday, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose back to multiyear highs, climbing 13 basis points to the top 2.8%.
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On Tuesday, March’s consumer price index reading showed an 8.5% increase from a year ago, the fastest annual gain since December 1981 — and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 8.4%.
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Supplier prices were also hotter than expected for March, gaining 11.2% from a year ago and marking the biggest gain on record going back to 2010.
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Inflation fears and higher bond yields drove tech shares lower on Thursday, as investors dropped growth stocks in favour of more stable assets. Microsoft dropped 2.7%, Apple tumbled 3%, and Google slipped 2.4%. Chip stocks also slumped with Nvidia sliding about 4.3%, and Advanced Micro Devices falling about 4.8%.
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Further, Elon Musk offered to buy Twitter for $54.20 a share. Musk said this was his best and final offer for the social media company, which he said needs to be transformed privately in order to thrive. Shares of Twitter fell about 1.7%. At the same time, Tesla shares declined 3.6%.