The major stock market indexes held steep losses midday on Friday, bouncing back slightly from the lows of the day. Investor's were discouraged by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech.
The Nasdaq composite plunged 3%. The S&P 500 lost 2.6% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.3%. All the major indexes dropped below their 21-day exponential moving averages.
The Russell 2000 small-cap ETF lost 2.7%. The big tech Nasdaq 100-tracking ETF Invesco QQQ Trust plummeted 3.3%.
NYSE volume was up 3.1% while Nasdaq volume was up 7.8% vs. the same time on Thursday.
The SPDR Select Energy ETF lost 0.7%. Crude oil rose 0.2%, trading at $92.68 per barrel. Natural gas reversed course and is down 0.8%, still at the $9 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) level.
Bitcoin futures plunged 4.5% to $20,520. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose to 3.05%.
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Chair Powell Says Fed Will Use Tools Forcefully
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed the Fed's stance on the need for raising interest rates to curb inflation. He expects the central bank to continue to hike rates to do so. He added the moves will cause "some pain" to the U.S. economy.
Markets now see a 39.5% likelihood the Fed will boost rates by 50 basis points in September and a higher 60.5% chance of a 75-basis-point hike.
Personal consumption expenditures slowed, with a modest gain of 0.1% vs. the consensus of 0.4%, trailing June's 1.0% increase. July personal income rose 0.2%, below the expected 0.6% and less than June's 0.7%.
Entertainment Restaurant Breaks out
Dave & Buster's Entertainment broke out of a cup-with-handle base, hitting the 43.92 buy point, but has reversed and was down 2.5% with the market pullback today. The company is ranked No. 1 in the Retail-Restaurants industry group, according to Stock Checkup. Dave & Buster's earned a best-possible 99 Composite Rating, and has seen improved technical strength.
Stock Market Moves: Solar Companies Shine
Online fashion retailer Farfetch soared 30% in heavy volume, after reporting a beat on Q2 sales and smaller loss than expected Thursday after the market close. The company lowered its financial guidance for the year.
China-based JinkoSolar gained 2% and briefly poked above its 21-day exponential moving average and 50-day moving average. But it later reversed and fell below those lines of support. The company reported better-than-expected Q2 sales and earnings numbers.
First Solar rose 0.2% after BofA Securities upgraded its rating to buy from neutral, and increased its price target to 141 from 104.50. The upgrade comes after the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act and amid rising expectations the bill will benefit the clean energy industry.
Shoe Carnival gave back this morning's gains, and is off 3.2%. The company reported a miss on Q2 EPS and sales Thursday after the market close.
Bristol Myers Squibb bucked the trend, rising 0.4% on recent news of its lung cancer drug.
Chinese EV Stock Positive In U.S.-China Deal
Chinese stocks reacted positively to news that the U.S. and China reached a tentative agreement for U.S. accounting regulators to inspect China-based auditors. The deal may prevent many Chinese companies from being delisted from American stock exchanges.
Chinese EV maker Nio was up 0.4% in a choppy base, with a buy point of 24.53. The stock peeked above its 50-day moving average, but couldn't hold above it.
Alibaba was up but reversed to down 0.4% Friday afternoon, though it may be a stock to watch. The stock was featured on IBD as a stock to watch and buy.
IBD 50 Stocks On The Move
The IBD 50 ETF, a measure of growth stocks, was down 1.7%, holding up better than the major indexes.
Chinese solar company Daqo New Energy was up 9.5% on heavy volume, benefiting from the U.S. and Chinese accounting agreement.
Natural gas producer Comstock Resources gained 1.7% on light volume, as natural gas prices saw strength earlier today. The company holds the No. 2 spot in the U.S. Gas & Oil Exploration group.
Comstock has impressive fundamentals including a perfect 99 Composite Rating and 97 EPS Rating.
Fitness beverage maker Celsius pulled back 3.1%, trimming its gain for the week to 14%.
