The major stock market indexes added to this week's steep losses, down more than 2% Friday afternoon and near the lows of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 600 points and is at the lowest level of 2022.
The Nasdaq composite fell 2.3%. The S&P 500 lost 2.1%. The Dow Jones dropped 1.8%. Small caps were hit the hardest, with the Russell 2000 index plunging 2.8%. The Nasdaq is trading below the 11,000 level.
Stock Market Adds To Losses As Investors Fear The Worst
Investors are unloading stocks as they fear there is a recession or one is coming, and even higher interest rates. It remains to be seen whether Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's comments this afternoon can ease investors' nerves.
Volume on the NYSE and the Nasdaq was higher vs. the same time on Thursday.
The Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ Trust retreated 1.7%. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note dipped to 3.68%.
The European markets also felt pain, with the German DAX stock index down 2%, Paris CAC 40 losing 2.3%, and London FTSE 100 shedding 2% to close out the trading day.
The September Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) Composite Flash came in stronger than expected at 49.3. vs. the 47.0 consensus, showing improvement over the prior month. The Manufacturing Index came in at 51.8 vs. the 51.3 expected, also an improvement over August. The Services Index was 49.2, better than the 45.0 expected, and above the 43.7 for August.
The PMI Flash numbers are a preliminary look ahead of the final report, which will be released in about 10 days. The estimate of current private sector output is gathered from surveys of around 1,000 manufacturing and service sector companies. Numbers above 50 represent rising output, while below 50 signifies falling output.
Crude oil fell sharply, down 5.5% to $78.91 per barrel. The SPDR Select Energy ETF lost 6.5% following the drop in crude.
Bitcoin shed 2.7% to $18,770.
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Stock Market Gainers And Losers: Pizza Stock Gets Upgrade
Domino's Pizza popped 3% after BMO Capital upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform with a price target of 430. Stephens initiated coverage with an equal-weight rating and a price target of 368. Citigroup lowered its price target on DPZ to 415 from 475, but maintained its buy rating.
Depression-drug maker Relmada Therapeutics rose 4.4% after Goldman Sachs raised its price target to 81 from 49, keeping its buy rating on the stock. Relmada has reached the 20%-25% profit target from a cup-with-handle base with a buy point of 26.29. The move pushed shares back above the 21-day exponential moving average after a brief dip below the line, according to its MarketSmith chart.
Dollar Tree rebounded 1.2% after yesterday's 1.8% drop and finding resistance at the declining 21-day line. Paint company Sherwin-Williams rose 1.1% after hitting a 52-week low on Thursday.
Bargain membership retailer Costco was down 3.6% after reporting better-than-expected fiscal Q4 EPS and sales after Thursday's market close, but lower gross margin. The mixed report was enough for Morgan Stanley to cut the price target to 525 from 560, while maintaining its overweight rating on the stock.
Ionis Pharmaceuticals plunged 4.2% after AstraZeneca decided not to move forward with late-stage development of a high-cholesterol drug. AstraZeneca stock was down 3.1% on the news.
IBD 50: Fiber Optic Stock Up, Others See Sell Signals
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF sank 5.6%, tumbling more than the major indexes in today's stock market. The fund dipped slightly below its low of the 2020 bear market, and is at the lowest level since December 2016. The IBD 50 index, which is not weighted like the ETF, is around 300 and still above the 2020 low at 238.94.
Fiber optic components and systems manufacturer Clearfield held up better than most IBD 50 stocks, dropping 0.4%. The stock was very extended from a cup-with-handle base with a buy point of 69.33, has been in a steep decline since it peaked late August. The company holds the No. 1 spot in the Telecom-Fiber Optics group, which is ranked No. 72 out of the 197 industries IBD tracks. Clearfield still earns a best-possible 99 EPS Rating and a 97 Composite Rating.
Oil and natural gas explorer Comstock Resources plunged 11.7% as oil stocks are feeling the effects of a stronger U.S. dollar and increased fears of a recession.
Cross Country Healthcare dropped 2.2% and is near the 7% to 8% sell signal from a 27.87 buy point in a cup-with-handle base.
Griffin gave back 2.4% and is also near the 7% to 8% sell signal from a 31.12 buy point of a cup-with-handle base.
Food Packaging company Graphic Packaging retreated 2.7% on light volume and is trading below its 200-day moving average.
