4.05pm: Dow gives back more 500 points
US stocks finished the trading session lower as investors worried about the economic impact of the Omicron variant and a tighter monetary policy next year.
At the close, the Dow fell 532 points to 35,365, while the S&P 500 eased 48 points at 4,621 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 11 points to 15,170.
Notable movers included shares of FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Corp, which climbed more than 5% after the package delivery giant reported better-than-expected 2Q financial results and announced a $5 billion share buyback.
1.20pm: US stocks fall amid interest rate worries
US stocks fell in volatile afternoon trading as investors assessed the potential impact of policy shifts by the world’s largest central banks on inflation and growth.
The S&P 500 declined 0.8% to 4,631, while The Dow Jones Industrial Average weakened 1.3%, or 454 points, , after being down more than 600 points in morning trading.
The Nasdaq Composite Index pared earlier losses and flirted with the flatline, recently falling about 0.1%.
“While the initial reaction to the Fed move was positive, almost exuberantly so, as Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and Thursday’s Bank of England hike recede into the past investors appear to be much more cautious, contemplating a year ahead where the tide of central bank largesse definitely starts to go out,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading platform company IG.
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Mountain Boy Minerals announces non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of up to C$1 million
10am: US shares start firmly in red
US shares started firmly in the red at the end of the week as markets mulled the Fed's accelerated tapering, the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) developments, and rising inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed around 416 points to stand at 35,481 in early deals in New York. The S&P 500 lost around 37 points to stand at 4,631. The tech-laden Nasdaq plunged around 94 points at 15,086.
Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst with ThinkMarkets, said the focus on today's trading remains on tech stocks.
"The Nasdaq surrendered its entire gains made in the aftermath of the FOMC policy decision on Wednesday amid concerns that policy tightening from the Fed will reduce the appeal of lower-yielding growth stocks, especially those with overstretched valuations. Sentiment hasn’t been helped in the sector by insider selling of late," the analyst noted.
"The week ahead is going to be rather quiet from a macro point of view, with only a handful of scheduled events to look forward to," he added.
"Investors will also keep a close eye on the coronavirus situation as omicron continues to spread like wildfires. The latest measures to curb the infection rate is likely to hurt the economic activity a little, which should keep the pressure on all sorts of risk assets, including crude oil and commodity dollars. So, volatility is likely to remain elevated in the week ahead despite a quieter macro calendar."
6.30am: US stocks seen opening down
US stocks are expected to end the week on the back foot as concerns about the Omicron variant of coronavirus (COVID-19), rampant inflation and the prospect of higher interest rates in 2022 have resulted in a rotation out of rate-sensitive tech stocks and into financials and consumer staples.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15% in Friday pre-market trading, while the broader S&P 500 index dropped 0.37% and those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 shed 0.87%.
Stocks fell on Thursday, led by a decline in large tech stocks, pushing the Nasdaq Composite 2.47% lower to 15,180. The Dow fell 0.08% to 35,898 and the S&P 500 decreased by 0.87% to 4,669.
“Following a few days of generally hawkish actions from central banks, investors have been rotating into more economically sensitive sectors at the expense of growth,” commented Richard Hunter, Head of Markets at interactive investor.
“As such, the Nasdaq in the US bore the brunt of the selling pressure while the likes of the financials and utilities saw some support. More broadly, there were further indications to vindicate the Federal Reserve statement that the economy no longer needs increasing amounts of monetary support. Factory production was at the highest level in almost three years, while there was only a marginal increase in the jobless claims number, where employment remains a key plank to the Fed strategy over the coming months."
Ahead of future volatility as monetary support is wound down and the economy left to stand alone, Hunter noted that markets have made strong progress. In the year to date, the Dow is still ahead by 17.3%, the S&P by 24.3% and the Nasdaq by 17.8%.