Stocks Just Had Their Worst Week of the Year

A new report on inflation spooks investors
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 24, 2023 3:23 PM CST
Stocks Just Had Their Worst Week of the Year
An NYSE sign is seen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Stocks sank Friday on Wall Street and closed out their worst week since early December amid new fears about inflation.

  • The S&P 500 fell 1.1% Friday to cap its third straight loss. The benchmark index dropped 42 points to 3,970.
  • The Dow fell 336 points, or 1%, to 32,816.
  • The Nasdaq fell 195 points, or 1.6%, to 11,395.
  • For the week, the S&P fell nearly 3%, the Dow fell about 3%, and the Nasdaq fell a bit more than 3%, per CNBC.

The latest inflationary worry came Friday via a report that showed the measure of inflation preferred by the Fed came in higher than expected, per the AP. The report said prices were 4.7% higher in January than a year earlier, after ignoring costs for food and energy because they can swing more quickly than others. That was an acceleration from December’s inflation rate, showing the wrong momentum, and it was higher than economists’ expectations for 4.3%. It echoed other reports from earlier in the month that showed inflation at both the consumer and wholesale levels was higher than expected in January.

Tech and high-growth stocks once again took the brunt of the pressure. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Tesla all fell more than 2% and were the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 because their immense size gives them more sway on the index. Software company Autodesk fell to the largest loss in the index, down 12.8% despite reporting stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than expected. Analysts said investors were disappointed with its forecasts for upcoming results. Boeing lost 4.1% after it again stopped deliveries of its 787 passenger jet because of questions around a supplier’s analysis of a part near the front of the plane.

(More stock market stories.)

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