The Week In Review

12/17/21

The major averages are lower to end the week as investors sold tech stocks again, a day after losses in the sector dragged down the rest of the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is set to decline 150 points. The S&P 500 is down 29 points while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 145 points or 0.9%.

On Thursday, the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite fell 2.47% for its worst day since September. The other averages saw more modest losses. The Dow fell 0.08%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.87%.

The moves reversed a rally in Wednesday's session that followed the Federal Reserve's announcement of a more aggressive plan to wind down its asset purchases, and that it is looking at hiking rates multiple times in 2022.

As investors continued to digest the Fed news, as well as the impact of both rising inflation and the spread of the omicron Covid variant, they appeared to be rotating from high-growth tech names to consumer staples.

Shares of one-time EV darling Rivian lost 10% in premarket trading Friday after the truck maker said it will fall short of its 2021 production target.

Elsewhere in the tech sector, Nvidia lost nearly 2% in premarket trading, adding to its 6% loss on the week. Tesla shares were down another 1%, adding to their 9% loss on the week.

FedEx shares jumped 5% after quarterly earnings and revenue results topped expectations and it announced a $5 billion buyback. The shipper also reinstated its original 2022 EPS forecast.

The market is divided on the week with the Nasdaq Composite down 2.9%, while the S&P 500 is off by 0.9% and the Dow has shed just 0.2%.

Bank stocks were in the green again a bit in early trading Friday. They were among the biggest gainers on Thursday and are higher for the week. Bank of America and Wells Fargo added more than 2%. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan rose more than 1%. Shares of Verizon jumped more than 4% as one of the top performers in the Dow.

Weekly jobless claims came in slightly higher than expected Thursday, and housing starts for November were stronger than economists projected after declining in the prior month.

On Friday, Darden Restaurants and Winnebago are scheduled to report quarterly earnings results before the bell.

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