NEW YORK (awp international) – Signs of persistently high inflation caused further uncertainty on New York stock exchanges on Friday. Sentiment remained subdued as producer price inflation slowed less than expected in November. With the losses of the last few days, however, much had already been discounted, so that the movements have stabilized at a moderate level. What is left is reluctance before the upcoming interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve.
With two hours to go, the Dow Jones Industrial was down 0.21% to 33,710.29 points, meaning it lost a good two percent on the week. The market-wide S&P 500 was just below the previous day’s level at 3962.03 points. The Nasdaq 100, rich in technology stocks, rose 0.19% to 11,659.74 points. Its weekly minus is still nearly three percent.
Producer prices released on Friday are seen as a harbinger of consumer pricing and the Fed’s interest rate decision next week. The pressure on the US Federal Reserve remains high for the moment in view of further interest rate hikes. Additionally, US consumer confidence improved surprisingly significantly in December. Such signs of economic strength could provide the Fed with arguments that the economy can cope with further significant interest rate hikes.
Shares of Netflix jumped 4.8% after US bank Wells Fargo recommended the streaming service’s stock. The price surged to its highest level since this year’s second drop in April, which may now be leveled soon. In his study, analyst Steven Cahall positioned himself very optimistically for 2023 with renewed improvement in subscriber development.
Broadcom shares rose 3.3%. The semiconductor company posted strong results in its fiscal fourth quarter and expects revenue for the current fiscal first quarter to exceed consensus estimates. UBS’s Timothy Arcuri saw this as evidence of the firm’s strong positioning in a challenging competitive environment.
However, DocuSign has climbed to the top spot on the Nasdaq 100, where the stock is up 14.2%. The software company specializing in electronic signatures reported adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal third quarter that nearly quadrupled the average analyst estimate.
On the weak side of the Nasdaq, Lululemon shares fell 13.4% after the release of its financial results. The sports and yoga apparel maker had underwhelmed its profitability in the prior financial quarter and the outlook for the latest quarter did not look convincing compared to market expectations.
