Stocks fell Friday morning as investors evaluated a week’s worth of earnings results and concerns of disappointing profits. All the major averages headed for a week of losses.
The benchmark index last traded 0.14% lower, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 39 points.
Major indices are on pace to finish the week in the red, with the Dow and the S&P 500 on track for their worst weekly performances since March. The Nasdaq’s seen the biggest losses, with the tech-heavy index down 0.7%. The Dow and S&P have lost about 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.
“There’s the continued push-pull of the fact that the economy has been a lot more resilient than many people expected ad corporate earnings have held up pretty well, all things considered,” said Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.
Even so, he noted that the Federal Reserve’s raised rates substantially over the last year, and, even if the central bank hikes as expected in May, it will likely hold rates at a higher level than the market expects.
“You can kind of see the the bull and bear case really right there in a nutshell as far as resilient economy with stronger-than-expected corporate earnings versus a very hot, very restrictive monetary policy coming from the Fed,” he said.
Earnings season continued Friday, with results from Procter & Gamble. The consumer products company gained more than 3% after beating expectations and liftings it sales forecast. As of Friday morning, 76% of S&P 500 companies reporting earnings so far have beaten analyst EPS estimates, according to FactSet.
Elsewhere, material stocks were the worst performers, with Freeport-McMoRan falling 4% after posting a year-over-year decline in results. Albemarle dropped 5% as it announced a lithium plan with Chile.
While companies broadly beat expectations this week, overall profit reports failed to provide a boost, with some investors fearing an earnings drop looms with a likely…
Read the full article here