Benzinga - by Piero Cingari, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Wall Street paused for a breather Friday following a stronger-than-anticipated producer inflation report that once again caught investors off guard, echoing the heat of a similarly strong consumer inflation report earlier in the week.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) for January 2024 saw a 0.3% month-over-month increase, surpassing the projected 0.1% surge, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) surged by 3.1% year-on-year, exceeding the forecasted 2.9%, highlighting the ongoing intensity of the inflation battle.
“The January inflation data vindicates the Fed’s wait-and-see approach,” Bank of America economist Stephen Juneau said in a note.
As a result, traders trimmed their expectations for Fed rate cuts, delaying the anticipated start to this summer. Yields surged higher, with the policy-sensitive two-year note yield climbing by over 10 basis points to reach 4.67%.
As of noon trading in New York, the S&P 500 showed minimal change for the day, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 lagged behind, potentially ending a five-week winning streak. A similar trend was observed with both Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Friday's Performance In Major Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices & ETFs | Price | 1-day % chg |
| S&P 500 | 5,020.44 | -0.2% |
| Dow Jones | 38,675.17 | -0.3% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 17,749.70 | -0.5% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,044.70 | -0.9% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was 0.2% lower to $500.96, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) fell 0.3% to $386.90 and the tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 0.5% to $432.16, according to Benzinga Pro data.
The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP), outperformed, up 0.5%, while the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC) was the laggard, down 1.4%.
Friday's Stock Movers
- Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:BIO) rose over 7%, marking the largest one-day rise among S&P 500 stocks after the company released stronger-than-expected results last quarter.
- Digital Realty Corp. Inc. (NYSE:DLR) fell 7.6% after fourth-quarter results missed projections.
- Other companies reacting to earnings were Applied Materials Inc. (NYSE:AMAT), up 7%, Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE:VMC), Kinsale Capital Group Inc. (NYSE:KNSL), up 18%, The Trade Desk Inc. (NASDAQ:TTD), up 18%, Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN), up 15%, Toast Inc. (NYSE:TOST), up 15%, ShockWave Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:SWAV), up 13%, Roku Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU), down 23%, Dropbox Inc. (NASDAQ:DBX), down 21% and DoorDash Inc. (NASDAQ:DASH), down 9%.
Illustration created using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.
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