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NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Investors on Wall Street and the Nasdaq are uncertain given the strong inflation and ahead of the expected monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). That was felt again on Friday. After a friendly start, the most important indices turned negative. The high-growth technology stocks were particularly weak once again.
Market participants are currently speculating feverishly about possible faster and more significant interest rate hikes, after the highest inflation rate in over 40 years was published the day before.
The Wall Street index Dow Jones Industrial (Dow Jones 30 Industrial) dropped 1.17 percent to 34,829.65 points around two hours before the close of trading. The weekly plus at the start of trading on this day has thus currently turned into a weekly minus of 0.7 percent.
The S&P 500 index, which covers the broad market, recently fell by 1.45 percent to 4438.85 points after a stable course. The NASDAQ 100 technology index fell 2.20 percent to 14,382.50 points for a little over 2 percent loss for the week.
The day before, a surprise price increase of 7.5 percent had been published for January. The Fed’s inflation target is just 2 percent. The currency holders have therefore signaled an initial rate hike in March despite the still rampant corona pandemic, and in view of the current data the pressure to act is growing. This was also made clear on Thursday by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, James Bullard, when he stated that he was in favor of raising interest rates by a full percentage point by July.
Corporate news was a bit lighter ahead of the weekend. Sporting goods maker Under Armor spooked investors with its earnings results. The share fell by a little more than ten percent, the Nike competitor suffered from declining results in the Christmas quarter. The increased sales target for the current quarter did not help either.
Shares in Expedia turned negative after hitting a record high of just under $210.50, falling 2.5 percent. However, the most recent interim report from the online travel company was strong: Despite the pandemic, the company managed to jump back into the profit zone. The British bank Barclays and its Swiss competitor Credit Suisse then raised their share price targets and confirmed their buy recommendations. Since the beginning of the year there has already been a price increase of around seven percent – the Nasdaq 100 has lost around twelve percent in the same period.
The Davita shares (DaVita HealthCare Partners) gave up their profits, but remained quite stable at minus 0.1 percent in the weak overall market. The dialysis specialist exceeded analysts’ estimates with its increase in earnings and sales in the past quarter
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