Stocks rose on Friday, pushing the S&P 500 index to a new intraday record and setting the benchmark index at an all-time high at the close.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 1.1%, comfortably above 4,800. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) rose 1.5%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 1%, or nearly 400 points.
Now that the main drivers of stock price gains in the second half of 2023 have faded, attention is turning to Big Tech, which has the potential to revitalize the sluggish stock market. Thursday's tech-driven stock rally brought the S&P 500 just shy of its all-time closing high of 4,796.56 and ended the Dow Jones Industrial Average's three-day losing streak.
But the holiday-shortened week was a volatile one for stocks as investors tried to gauge a possible change in Federal Reserve policy and reacted to policymakers' statements, economic data and corporate earnings. Markets are still closely watching for clues about the timing of a rate cut that could set the tone for businesses this year.
A widely watched indicator of the Fed's next actions is waning expectations that interest rates will be cut anytime soon. The CME FedWatch tool on Friday afternoon showed less than 50% of the market believed the Fed would cut interest rates at its upcoming policy meeting in March. That number was 80% just a week ago, highlighting the Fed's renewed pessimism and how quickly sentiment about the Fed's future moves can change.
read more: Impact of the Fed's interest rate hike suspension on bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards
Among individual stocks, iRobot (IRBT) shares fell 29% following reports that EU regulators plan to block Amazon's (AMZN) $1.4 billion acquisition of the Roomba maker. Meanwhile, Macy's (M) fell more than 3% after the company announced 2,350 layoffs and the closure of five of its stores.
Quarterly results for Travelers (TRV), Regions Financial (RF) and Banks will be published in earnings reports on Friday. The latest economic information will include statistics on existing home sales for December and a survey of consumer sentiment by the University of Michigan.
Elsewhere, the U.S. government's funding spree was given a reprieve after lawmakers passed interim legislation to avert a looming government shutdown.
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Existing home sales will fall to their slowest pace in 30 years in 2023
Demand for affordability fueled a record low year for existing home sales, as rising interest rates and home price risks drove sales prices to multi-decade lows.
According to a report by Gabriela Cruz Martinez of Yahoo Finance, on an annual basis, existing home sales fell to 4.09 million units (a 30-year low), a 19% decrease compared to 2022.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home sale price in 1995 was $114,600. People's incomes were lower, but housing prices were much more affordable. In contrast, the median home price reached an all-time high of $389,800 in 2023.
Existing home sales fell 6% from a year earlier, lower than expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
NAR said Friday that existing home sales fell 1% last month from November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.7 million. This was the lowest sales activity since August 2010, when sales of 3.68 million units were recorded.
Stock prices rise in afternoon trading
Here are some of the leading stocks on Yahoo Finance. trend ticker Trading page on Friday afternoon:
Meta (Meta) Shares of the social networking company rose 1.5% to a new all-time high as CEO Mark Zuckerberg doubled down on his strategy to focus on AI. On Thursday, he announced an expansion of Meta's AI infrastructure with plans to build its own artificial general intelligence (AGI).
Coursera (cool): While some companies are buoyed by the excitement of AI, other sectors are suffering from what many see as a major technological disruption. Online course provider Coursera fell more than 11% on Friday afternoon after Goldman Sachs analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded its investment rating from “neutral” to “sell.” He said AI software tools pose significant risks to courseware providers such as Coursera Chegg (CHGG) and Duolingo (DUOL).
i-Robot (IRBT): Shares fell sharply on Friday morning after reports that the European Union was trying to block Amazon's deal to buy the company for $1.7 billion. According to the Wall Street Journal, EU officials previously raised concerns about the proposed deal late last year, arguing that it would limit competition in the robot vacuum market. The stock price fell nearly 30%.
Spirit Airlines (keep): Shares of JetBlue Airways (JBLU) soar more than 20% after the company raised its fourth-quarter outlook after a U.S. federal judge blocked its acquisition of the low-cost airline, taking a big hit to the stock. It rose, but rebounded slightly.
Evaluating debt refinancing and raising guidance boosts spirits by 22%
Spirit shares rose 22% on Friday after the Miramar, Fla., company said it was “evaluating options to refinance our 2025 debt maturities” and raised its fourth-quarter operating margin outlook by 450 basis points. I rebelled.
Spirit stock was posting its best daily performance since 2020, reversing sharp declines over the past three sessions.
A federal judge's ruling this week blocking JetBlue's (JBLU) acquisition of Spirit Airlines (SAVE) is a huge blow to the airline, especially Spirit, which faces $1.1 billion in debt in September 2025 and the clock is ticking. This raises questions about future developments.
On Friday, the company announced that it had $1.3 billion in liquidity as of Dec. 31 and that its merger agreement with JetBlue “remains in full force and effect.” The statement effectively left the door open in case of an appeal of Tuesday's ruling.
Spirit shares fell as much as 20% on Thursday after a WSJ article fueled speculation of a corporate restructuring.
The report prompted the following statement from an airline spokesperson: “Spirit is not pursuing or engaging in a statutory reorganization.”
Since Tuesday's court ruling, the low-cost airline's stock price has fallen more than 50%.
Stocks rise in afternoon trading, S&P hits record high
Wall Street continued its momentum on Friday afternoon, poised to push the S&P 500 over the edge to a new record high.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC), which has a high proportion of high-tech stocks, rose 0.9%. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.7%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5%, or about 200 points.
Stock prices rise in morning trading
Here are some of the leading stocks on Yahoo Finance. trend ticker Page during Friday morning trading:
i-Robot (IRBT): Shares fell sharply on Friday morning after reports that the European Union was trying to block Amazon's deal to buy the company for $1.7 billion. According to the Wall Street Journal, EU officials previously raised concerns about the proposed deal late last year, arguing that it would limit competition in the robot vacuum market. The stock price fell nearly 30%.
Spirit Airlines (keep): Shares of JetBlue Airways (JBLU) soar more than 20% after the company raised its fourth-quarter outlook after a U.S. federal judge blocked its acquisition of the low-cost airline, taking a big hit to the stock. It rose, but rebounded slightly.
Super microcomputer (SMCI): Shares rose nearly 30% on Friday morning after the company raised its outlook for the second quarter of 2024. The company now expects sales to exceed $3.6 billion, significantly higher than its previous forecast for an increase of $2.9 billion. Adjusted earnings are expected to be $5.40 to $5.55 per share, compared with previous guidance of $4.40 to $4.88 per share.
Wayfair (W): Wayfair shares rose 8% after the company announced significant layoffs of 1,600 people, or 13% of its workforce. The company is among the companies that cut thousands of employees at the beginning of the year, including Macy's (M), Citigroup (C), and Google (GOOG, GOOGL).
iRobot stock plummets 30% on report that EU will block Amazon acquisition
Shares of iRobot (IRBT) fell sharply on Friday morning following reports that the European Union is trying to block Amazon's $1.7 billion acquisition deal for the company.
According to the Wall Street Journal, competition officials from the European Union's enforcement agency met with Amazon representatives on Thursday to discuss the deal. Officials told Amazon the deal was likely to be rejected.
EU officials previously raised concerns about the proposed acquisition late last year, arguing that it would limit competition in the robot vacuum market, according to the report. Because Amazon is both a seller of such products and a marketplace for them, the company may have an incentive to thwart its competitors in the marketplace or prevent them from selling their products through its platform.
There are no firm plans to end the agreement. It still needs approval from the European Commission's political leaders. The deadline for final decisions is February.
Amazon's challenge to regulations in the EU has raised further concerns about how the deal will play out with U.S. antitrust authorities.
During President Biden's term, regulators have blocked acquisitions of some large companies. And last year, the Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon, accusing the tech giant of maintaining an illegal monopoly.
Consumers haven't felt this good about the economy since July 2021
Americans feel increasingly positive about the state of the US economy.
The University of Michigan's latest consumer sentiment survey, released Friday, found that overall sentiment rose 13% during January. The index for the month was 78.8, the highest level since July 2021, and well above economists' expectations of 70.1.
The sentiment index's cumulative 29% rise over the past two months was the largest two-month gain since the U.S. economy emerged from recession in 1991.
“December's sharp increase was no fluke,” Director of Consumer Research Joan Hsu said in a press release. “Consumer views were supported by confidence that inflation has turned a corner and stronger income expectations,” he said.
Stock prices rise as S&P500 aims for record highs
Wall Street opened higher across the board on Friday, with the S&P 500 hitting new highs as investors appeared to shake off pessimism about the possibility of a Fed rate cut.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (^IXIC) rose 0.5%, aiming to return to gains posted on Thursday, as Apple (AAPL) and semiconductor manufacturers outperformed. The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%, or about 120 points.
Ford cuts F-150 Lightning production after demand flags for electric trucks
Ford (F) announced early Friday that it would lay off 1,400 workers from the production line of the F-150 Lightning, the electric version of its best-selling truck, in response to customer demand.
That means people aren't as excited about buying the electric version of the F-150 as the company had planned.
Half of those workers will move to the plant that builds Ford's new Bronco and Ranger trucks, while the other half will either receive buyout offers or move to the Dearborn plant, where the F-150 Lightning is built. will find placement in another role.
This move is reminiscent of an article by Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian in late 2023 in which he said the industry's EV dreams matched reality last year.
In other words, lofty predictions made by automakers in recent years that the country would become like California when it comes to EV adoption are starting to look too much like dreams.
And investors were certainly skeptical. Ford and General Motors (GM) stock prices have both declined in the last year, lagging far behind the S&P 500 over that period.
The euphoria that swept the auto industry in 2021 has been dampened as rising interest rates make car financing more difficult for many consumers, fears of an economic slowdown still weigh on consumers, and inventory levels remain depressed. , feels quite far away as 2024 begins.
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