Stocks end mixed on Friday as investors took a cautious outlook into the final trading day of the week amid concerns over the health of the global economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 38.17 points, or 0.09%, to finish the session at 42,063.36, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.19% to close at 5,702.55, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.36% to end the day at 17,948.32.
For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.36%, posting its fifth positive week over the last six weeks, according to CNBC. The index is up more than 19% in 2024. The Dow ended the week higher by 1.62%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq advanced 1.49%.
Updated at 1:12 PM EDT
Fed talk
Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, the first Governor to dissent on a rate decision since 2005 earlier this week, said she remains concerned over elevated inflation pressures and prefers "moving at a measured pace toward a more neutral policy stance will ensure further progress in bringing inflation down to our 2% target" to avoid stoking demand.
Her Fed colleague, Governor Christopher Waller, said earlier in the session that he favored the 50 basis point reduction and could see the case for a similar cut in November if inflation pressures continue to abate.
Stocks pared earlier declines in the wake of the comments, with the Dow marked 63 points higher on the session and the S&P 500 down 10 points, or 0.17%.
The CME Group's FedWatch, meanwhile, pegs the odds of another 50 basis point rate cut in November at 51%, up from just 38% on Thursday.
WALLER: Once you incorporate recent #PPI numbers, four-month annualized core #PCE is running at less than 1.8% .. below our target. .. Inflation is softening much faster than I thought it was going to.” #FOMC @moneymoverscnbc 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/amQvJYQKzl
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) September 20, 2024
Updated at 12:38 PM EDT
FTC v PBMs
The Federal Trade Commission unveiled a new civil lawsuit against the country's three biggest pharmacy benefit managers tied to allegations that they're selling higher-priced insulin in order to get larger government rebates.
The FTC said CVS Caremark (CVS) , Cigna Express Scripts (CI) and UnitedHealth Optum Rx (UNH) took money from drugmakers and agreed to steer customers away from lower-priced insulin options.
"Millions of Americans with diabetes need insulin to survive, yet for many of these vulnerable patients, their insulin drug costs have skyrocketed over the past decade thanks in part to powerful PBMs and their greed," the FTC said in a statement.
CVS Health shares were last marked 1.9% lower following news of the FTC suit, while United Health UNH fell 0.4% and Cigna CI fell 0.3%.
FTC sues prescription drug middlemen for artificially inflating insulin drug prices: https://t.co/sI9aAkjJPM #PBMs /1
— FTC (@FTC) September 20, 2024
Updated at 10:39 AM EDT
Slump media?
Trump Media & Technology (DJT) shares, the parent of former President Donald Trump's Truth Social website, hit a fresh one-year low Thursday after the lock-up period preventing new investors from exiting the money-losing venture expired last night.
Trump, who is campaigning for a second term in the White House, has said he won't sell any of his 115 million shares, which comprise around half of the outstanding float and are now valued at around $1.38 billion.
The stock debuted on the Nasdaq in March and traded as high as $79.38 each.
Good morning and happy triple witch and $DJT lock up expiration day pic.twitter.com/Pam7A3QJEQ
— Tom Hearden (@followtheh) September 20, 2024
Updated at 9:37 AM EDT
Soft open
The S&P 500 was marked 13 points, or 0.22% lower in the opening minutes of trading, with the Nasdaq down 15 points, or 0.09%.
The Dow slipped 55 points while the mid-cap Russell 2000 fell 11 points, or 0.48%.
Benchmark 10-year notes yields were up 3 basis points on the session at 3.745% while 2-year notes rose 4 basis points to 3.631%.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Sept. 20, 2024)$SPY -0.55%🟥$QQQ -0.11%🟥$DJI -0.12%🟥$IWM -0.67%🟥 pic.twitter.com/KTgP7k4aWh
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) September 20, 2024
Updated at 9:04 AM EDT
Nike doing it
Nike shares were last marked 8.6% higher in premarket trading following the ouster of John Donahoe and the return of longtime executive Elliott Hill as group CEO.
Nike, which has been one of the worst performing-post Covid stocks on the Dow, has lost more than $45 billion in market value this year.
Related: Analysts revisit Nike stock price targets after major CEO shakeup
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended with a twin set of record highs last night as the S&P 500 surged 95 points, or 1.17%, to close above the 5,700 mark for the first time thanks in part to outsized gains for megacap tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed at an all-time peak of just over 42,000 points while the Nasdaq surged 2.5% as markets digested Wednesday's dovish Federal Reserve rate decision while eyeing better-than-expected weekly jobs data.
An after-hours earnings report from package delivery giant FedEx (FDX) , however, as well as a gloomy near-term outlook from another European automaker, this time Mercedes-Benz, has investors in 'risk-off' mode heading into the opening bell.
FedEx, often seen as a good barometer for global business activity, slashed its full-year profit forecast after a disappointing July quarter update, sending shares 12.3% lower in premarket trading.
Mercedes-Benz Group, meanwhile, said weakness in China would continue to pressure profit margins and cut its full-year profit outlook amid what CEO Ola Kaellenius described as "a tremendous amount of cautiousness" in the global auto market.
Related: Stocks set for big Fed boost after summer rate cut rethink
On Wall Street, traders will also eye both the quarterly rebalancing of major stock benchmarks, including the S&P 500, as well as the regular 'triple witching hour' expiration or around $5 trillion worth of equity market options later in the session.
All that said, the market's main volatility index, the VIX, was marked 10% lower in after-hours trading at $16.41, a level that suggests daily swings for the S&P 500 of around 58 points each day for the next month.
Heading into the start of the trading day, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a 14 point opening bell decline, while those linked to the Dow are priced for a modest 10 point dip.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called 78 points to the downside.
In overseas markets, Europe's Stoxx 600 was marked 0.68% lower in early Frankfurt trading, with Britain's FTSE 100 falling 0.72% in London.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Analyst says Intel should drop a key business to survive
- Analysts adjust Bookings.com stock price target on travel market
- Analysts place bets on Las Vegas strip casino stocks
Overnight in Asia, two policy decisions defined the session, with the People's Bank of China making no major changes to its main suite of interest rates, a move that kept the on-shore yuan trading at the highest levels in 16 months.
The Bank of Japan, meanwhile, held its key short-term rate unchanged at 0.25%, with Governor Kazuo Ueda noting that "we can afford to spend some time in making a policy decision" going forward give the broader range of global economic uncertainties.
The Nikkei 225 ended 1.53% higher on the session while the MCSCI ex-Japan index was marked 0.79% heading into the close of trading.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
