The day in Wall Street had a mixed tone, with tech investors celebrating strong earnings from Amazon.com Inc. and a stable Personal Consumption Expenditure inflation rate, while overall market sentiment remained bearish. Economists interpreted the latest inflation data as positive, suggesting that the Federal Reserve will maintain current interest rates. On the other hand, Ford Motor Co. experienced a significant drop after missing quarterly estimates and revising guidance due to a strike. Oil giants Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. also reported disappointing results, leading to declines in their stock prices.
In terms of market performance, the S&P 500 experienced its eighth session of losses out of the last nine, with a 0.4% decline and a 2.5% decrease for the week. The Nasdaq 100 saw a slight increase of 0.5% but still ended the week 2.6% lower. The Dow dropped 0.8% and was down 1.8% for the week. The Russell 2000, which represents small-cap stocks, fell by 1% and extended its weekly losses to 2.5%.
In terms of specific ETFs, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust decreased by 0.5%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF fell by 0.9%, and the Invesco QQQ Trust rose by 0.4%. Among the S&P 500 sector ETFs, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund performed the worst, experiencing a 2.4% decline, while the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund rose by 1.4% due to the strong performance of Amazon.com Inc.
Notably, the latest economic data showed that personal expenditures in September increased by 0.7% compared to the previous month, surpassing market expectations. Personal income also increased by 0.3% in September, slightly below expectations. The annual inflation rate for personal consumption expenditure remained stable at 3.4%, aligning with forecasts. The core PCE inflation rate, which excludes food and energy costs, eased to 3.7% annually.
In individual stock news, DexCom, Inc. rallied over 10% following its quarterly results, while Intel Corp. saw a 10% increase due to beating Q3 earnings expectations and providing a positive outlook. Enphase Energy, Inc., on the other hand, tumbled over 13% due to a bleak forecast, and Charter Communications, Inc. fell 9% on disappointing results.
In the commodities market, crude oil rose 1.2% to $84.23 per barrel, while gold edged up by 0.1% to $1,987/oz. Treasury yields remained flat, and the dollar fell slightly. European equity indices had a negative session, with the SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 ETF falling by 0.9%. Bitcoin also experienced a decline, dropping 1.2% to $33,737.
