Stock market news for May 16, 2022

How did the US stock market close today? Tech stocks outperformed, and Nasdaq lost 142 points.

S&P 500: 4,008.01,-15.88(-0.39%)
Dow 30: 32,223.42,+26.76(+0.08%)
Nasdaq: 11,662.79,-142.21(-1.20%)
Russell 2000: 1,783.43,-9.24(-0.52%)

Stock market today

“U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday, with equities struggling for direction as concerns over the growth outlook persisted amid elevated inflation.

The S&P 500 ended a choppy session lower, dropping 0.4% to close at 4,008.01.The Nasdaq dropped by 1.2% to end at 11,662.79, as mega-cap technology companies including Apple (AAPL) fell and dragged the index lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed slightly higher to reach 32,223.42.

U.S. crude oil prices (CL=F) erased earlier losses and rose even after new economic data from China came in weaker-than-expected, as the latest wave of virus-related restrictions in the country curbed mobility. China’s retail sales dropped by 11.1% in April over last year, marking the worst decline since March 2020, while industrial production unexpectedly dropped by 2.9% compared to the same month last year.

The move lower in risk assets on Monday extended a recent stretch of volatility across markets. Stocks closed out last week with a sixth consecutive weekly loss, bringing the S&P 500 a total of 16.1% below its record high from Jan. 3. This has come, in turn, as investors weighed the risks of a deeper economic downturn as the Federal Reserve looks to curb inflation running near its hottest level in four decades, geopolitical turmoil continues in Ukraine, and China grapples with its largest COVID outbreak since 2020.

And amid these concerns, Wall Street analysts have struck a more cautious tone on stocks. Goldman Sachs slashed its year-end price target on the S&P 500 to 4,300 from 4,700 in a new note. The lowered target reflects “higher interest rates and slower economic growth than we previously assumed,” according to David Kostin, Goldman Sachs chief U.S. equity strategist. And in a recession scenario, Kostin added, the S&P 500 would likely fall even further to 3,600.

Other strategists also underscored the plethora of current risks to equities, and cautioned against reading too deeply into one-day bounces.”

Stock market source: Yahoo Finance

Stock market today

Small-cap stocks outperformed today.

S&P 500: 4,175.48,+20.10(+0.48%)
Dow 30: 33,128.79,+67.29(+0.20%)
Nasdaq: 12,563.76,+27.74(+0.22%)
Russell 2000: 1,900.77,+17.86(+0.95%)

Stock market news

“U.S. stocks traded mixed Tuesday in another choppy session in markets, as investors appraised the next moves by the Federal Reserve and a fresh batch of quarterly earnings results.

The S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq struggled for direction intraday. On Monday, technology stocks had outperformed, leading the S&P 500 higher by 0.6%, and the Nasdaq up by 1.6%. And these moves in tech shares came even as the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield topped 3%, or its highest level since December 2018. In recent months, a rise in yields has coincided with a drop in tech shares, which are considered more vulnerable to higher rates that would weigh on growth stocks’ valuations.

The market moves at the start of this week extended the streak of volatile trading investors have endured over the past several weeks. The S&P 500 posted an 8.8% decline in April for its worst month since March 2020.

“Volatility skews in both directions. In this period when we expect heightened volatility because of all of the confluence of factors that we see from geopolitics to earnings to the Fed to inflation, you’re going to have big swings like this,” Ross Mayfield, Baird investment strategy analyst, told Yahoo Finance Live. “I think at a certain point, buyers do see some value in there. If you’re of the opinion that we’re not going to enter a recession … I think you start to see some value investors start to take some bites.”

Still, given the variety of concerns still present for the market outlook, many strategists have struck a more cautious tone on U.S. stocks for the near-term. In a note published Friday, Bank of America strategists led by Savita Subramanian slashed their price target on the S&P 500 by 100 points to 4,500.

“This year’s market does not appear to be dominated by one factor, be it fundamentals or positioning, cost of capital or corporate outlooks, but has been reacting to all of the above in big swings,” the analysts wrote.”

Stock market data: Yahoo Finance

Stock market today

The US stock market closed lower amid a strong selloff. Nasdaq lost 536 points and underperformed, and Dow Jones lost 939 points. The closing numbers for the US stock market follow. Small-cap stocks also declined.

S&P 500: 4,131.93,-155.57(-3.63%)
Dow 30: 32,977.21,-939.18(-2.77%)
Nasdaq: 12,334.64,-536.89(-4.17%)
Russell 2000: 1,864.10,-53.84(-2.81%)

Stock market news

“U.S. stock declines accelerated into the close on Friday as the major equity indexes ended a volatile month lower.

The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite each sank. The S&P 500 ended Friday’s session lower by 3.6%, and dropped about 8.8% for April to post its worst monthly performance since March 2020. The Dow dropped 4.9% for the month. The Nasdaq Composite was the biggest laggard, sliding by more than 13% in April alone in the index’s worst month since October 2008.

Treasury yields climbed, and the benchmark 10-year yield rose above 2.9%. Shares of tech juggernaut Amazon slid after the company unexpectedly posted a quarterly loss and offered a weaker-than-expected current-quarter forecast. Apple’s stock also declined even after the iPhone-maker exceeded quarterly sales and profit estimates, though the company still cited ongoing supply chain constraints.

A day earlier earlier, the S&P 500 closed out Thursday’s session sharply higher, gaining 2.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose by 3.1% in its best day since March 16. Still, the S&P 500 still posted its third monthly decline so far in 2022, even during a month that is typically seasonally solid for equities.

Volatility has resurged in recent weeks amid concerns over whether tighter monetary policies from the Federal Reserve might derail the economy. And these fears compounded with lingering jitters over persistent inflation, geopolitical turmoil and an ongoing COVID outbreak in China. The S&P 500 was on track for an about 5% drop in April, based on Thursday’s closing level.

“There’s a lot of rerating going on, whether it’s the rerating of equity valuations, the rerating of interest rate expectations, or the rerating of inflation expectations, against tightening happening at the Fed,” Todd Jablonski, Principal Global Asset Allocation chief investment officer, told Yahoo Finance Live. “The threats of a slower economy, the threats of inflation, and the threats of higher energy prices out of the conflict in Ukraine [are] all sort of coming together to really stymie investor confidence and sentiment.”

Stock market data: Yahoo Finance

How did the US stock market close today?

Stock market today

S&P 500: 4,183.96,+8.76(+0.21%)
Dow 30: 33,301.93,+61.75(+0.19%)
Nasdaq: 12,488.93,-1.81(-0.01%)
Russell 2000: 1,884.04,-6.44(-0.34%)

Stock market news

“The Dow ended higher Wednesday, but well off its intraday highs as strong gains in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) were offset by weakness in Alphabet and Boeing following an earnings miss.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, or 62 points, The S&P 500 rose 0.18%, the Nasdaq closed flat.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:{{6369|GOOGL and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) kicked off the quarterly earnings for big tech, but it was the latter’s quarterly results that helped steady sentiment on tech.

Microsoft rose more than 4% after reporting fiscal third-quarter results that beat on both the top and bottom lines, led by strong growth in its cloud business.

“[T]he key metric that moves the stock, Azure Cloud revenue, accelerated to 49% constant-currency growth from 46%, the fastest pace since 4Q20 on double the revenue base,” Oppenheimer said in a note.

Alphabet, meanwhile, fell more than 3% after the tech giant reported first-quarter earnings that missed on the bottom line, paced by weaker than expected growth in its YouTube business.

“YouTube’s 2nd miss in a row [was] the main controversy,” RBC said in a note, as the streaming platform “battles TikTok with YT shorts.”

Meta Platforms, the parent of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), continues the flow of big tech earnings, with its first-quarter results after the close.

Semiconductor stocks struggled to turn positive, weighed down by a slip in shares of Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN). The chipmaker fell more than 2% as its better-than-expected quarterly results were offset by weaker guidance as Covid restrictions in China are expected to dent growth.

Chipmakers will remain in the spotlight as Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) jumped more than 5% afterhours trading after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results and upbeat guidance.

Beyond tech, Boeing (NYSE:BA) fell more than 7%, to keep gains in the broader market in check, after reporting first-quarter results that missed on both the top and bottom lines. The aircraft maker also said it would halt production of its 777X plane, with deliveries not expected to begin until 2025.

Visa (NYSE:V), meanwhile, also played a role in lifting the broader market after the payments processor reported better-than-expected quarterly results and said it expected further growth as spending on travel picks up pace.

Energy racked up gains as oil prices pared losses despite the impact of dollar strength and concerns about demand following a spike in Covid-19 cases in China.

Oil prices were also helped by data showing the U.S. weekly crude stock piles rose last than expected last week.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO), APA (NASDAQ:APA), and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) were among the top gainers in the energy sector.”

Stock market data: Investing

Stock market today

How did the stock market close today? A stock market selloff today. Heavy losses for all major US stock market indexes. Nasdaq lost 514 points, Dow Jones lost 809 points and S&P 500 lost 120 points. Tech stocks underperformed.

S&P 500: 4,175.20,-120.92(-2.81%)
Dow 30: 33,240.18,-809.28(-2.38%)
Nasdaq: 12,490.74,-514.11(-3.95%)
Russell 2000: 1,890.47,-63.73(-3.26%)

Stock market data: Yahoo Finance

Stock market today

How did the US stock market close today? Tech stocks outperformed.

S&P 500: 4,296.12,+24.34(+0.57%)
Dow 30: 34,049.46,+238.06(+0.70%)
Nasdaq: 13,004.85,+165.56(+1.29%)
Russell 2000: 1,954.20,+13.54(+0.70%)

Stock market news

“U.S. stocks ended higher Monday, erasing earlier losses in the day as concerns over an escalating COVID outbreak in China added to jitters over U.S. economic growth in the face of heightened inflation and monetary policy tightening.

The S&P 500 rose by 0.6% to reach 4,296.12. The Dow added more than 200 points, or 0.7%, to settle at 34,049.46, and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 1.3% to close just above 13,000. U.S. stocks bucked the trend of global equity markets, with the major stock indexes in Europe and Asia largely falling on Monday. U.S. Treasury yields dipped, and the benchmark 10-year yield hovered just above 2.8%.

West Texas intermediate crude oil futures fell below $100 per barrel, with fears over the economic impact of broadening virus-related restrictions throughout China mounting. Beijing saw a spike in COVID cases over the weekend that prompted more mandatory testing and some lockdowns in the region. And this came as other populous cities including Shanghai have also recently grappled with fresh waves of infections, even as the country works to abolish the virus under a zero-COVID policy.

In a note published last week, Bank of America economist Helen Qiao slashed her forecast for China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 4.2% from 4.8% for 2022 as the number of lockdowns throughout the country increased.

“COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions imposed in Shanghai and neighboring cities are not only hitting local demand but also causing logistic breakdowns and widespread supply-chain disruptions within and outside of the area,” Qiao wrote in the note published April 19. “In our view, even if such control measures will ultimately be rolled back and economic activities will gradually normalize by mid-year, a heavy toll on growth already seems inevitable.”

Meanwhile, investors have also been grappling with reassertions from Federal Reserve officials last week that the central bank would be taking a tough stance on reining in inflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell as well as San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly were among the latest to suggest they saw the case for 50 basis point interest rate hikes this year. These larger-than-typical increases would front-load the Fed’s monetary policy response to inflation in the near-term.”

Stock market data: Yahoo Finance