The S&P 500 ended lower on Friday as investors digested implications of a U.S. inflation report for the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy and adjusted their portfolios on the last day of a weak third quarter for stocks.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 158.84 points, or 0.47%, to 33,507.5, the S&P 500 lost 11.65 points, or 0.27%, to 4,288.05 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 18.05 points, or 0.14%, to 13,219.32.
Market Movers
Nike (ticker: NKE) stock rose 6.7% after the athletic apparel company reported fiscal first-quarter profit that beat analysts’ estimates. Nike said inventories fell 10% in the period. The company also reaffirmed its fiscal-year outlook and issued upbeat guidance for its second quarter. Shares of other athletic footwear and accessory companies rose. Foot Locker (FL) jumped 2.4%, Under Armour (UAA) rose 4.5%, and On Holding (ONON) gained 6%.
Ford (F) fell 1%, General Motors (GM) was down 0.5%, and Stellantis (STLA) declined 0.8% after the United Auto Workers union said it will expand its strike against General Motors and Ford, targeting one assembly plant at each company. Stellantis was spared from a strike expansion with UAW citing progress in negotiations.
Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) rose 6.4%. Shares climbed after Bloomberg reported that the healthcare giant was considering former Cigna (CI) executive Tim Wentworth to be its next CEO. The report cited people familiar with the matter.
Blue Apron (APRN) soared 135% after the meal-kit company agreed to be acquired by Wonder Group for $13 a share in cash in a deal with an equity value of approximately $103 million.
Carnival (CCL), the cruise operator, turned in higher earnings and revenue than expected in the fiscal third quarter but forecast a wider loss than anticipated for the final three months of its fiscal year. Shares dropped 5%.
Brinker International (EAT) rose 1.7% after the owner of Chili’s was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel.
Ball (BALL) jumped 3.4% after the aluminum-can maker was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
Bumble (BMBL) gained 3% after the dating app company was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Loop Capital.
Tesla (TSLA) rose 1.6%. The electric-vehicle maker was sued Thursday by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which alleged Tesla subjected Black employees at its Fremont, Calif., plant, to racial harassment and a hostile work environment. Meanwhile, Tesla is expected to report third-quarter deliveries on Monday and analysts at Citi trimmed their Tesla quarterly sales estimate to 450,000 vehicles, down from a previous expectation of 468,500.
Structure (ticker: GPCR) said early Friday that patients lost 5.4% of their body weight at the highest dose tested, compared to 0.5% body weight reductions in the placebo group. Stocks surged 34.56% on Friday.
Market News
US Equity Funds See Biggest Weekly Outflow in Three Months
U.S. equity funds witnessed robust outflows in the seven days to Sept. 27 on worries about a potential extension of the Federal Reserve's restrictive monetary policy and a renewed surge in Treasury yields.
According to LSEG data, U.S. equity funds suffered outflows of a net $11.69 billion, the biggest of any week since June 21.
UAW Set to Expand Strike at Ford, GM - UAW President
The United Auto Workers will walk off the job at an additional plant at General Motors and at Ford, UAW president Shawn Fain said on Friday, as the first-ever simultaneous strike against the Detroit Three automakers enters its third week.
The strike will expand to Ford's Chicago assembly plant and GM's Lansing, Michigan, assembly plant, covering about 7,000 workers, Fain said in an announcement, bringing the total number of workers on the picket lines to 25,000. The strike will not include any additional members at Stellantis.
"Despite our willingness to bargain Ford and GM have refused to make meaningful progress," Fain said in a video address Friday morning. He noted that prior to his announcement, the UAW had seen a "flurry" of interest from the companies on Friday morning.
U.S. Core PCE Inflation Increased 3.9% Y/Y in August, in Line With Expectation
The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation edged lower in August, a sign that the fight against inflation is back on track after a summer spike, though price-growth pressures remain that could push the central bank to raise interest rates again.
The core personal-consumption expenditures price index, also known as the core PCE deflator, rose 3.9% year over year in August, down from 4.2% in July and meeting expectations among economists surveyed by FactSet.
The core PCE deflator rose 0.1% month over month, down from 0.2% in July and below expectations of 0.2% among economists surveyed by FactSet.
Comments