The Week In Review

2/4/22

The major averages closed mixed for the day, but finished their best week of the year, as continued strength in earnings reports extended the tech-led rebound from the January rout. The S&P 500 rose 23 points or 0.5% to 4,500, while the and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 219 points or 1.6% to 14,098. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped in the last hour, falling 21 points or 0.06%, to 35,089.

For the week, the S&P 500 1.5% higher, and the Nasdaq rose 2.3%. The Dow ended the week up 1%. These gains mark the second weekly advances of 2022 for the major averages — which were under pressure last month as worries of higher interest rates dragged down tech names.

Amazon led the market higher as it jumped 13.5% on strong quarterly earnings and cloud revenue beats. Snap rocketed up 58.8% the day after reporting earnings. Pinterest rose 11.1%.

Traders Friday were also weighing a much stronger-than-expected jobs report and its potential impact on U.S. monetary policy going forward.

The 10-year Treasury yield jumped above 1.9%, hitting its highest level since December 2019, after the January jobs report showed a 467,000 gain in payrolls. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected a minor gain of 150,000, and some economists predicted a large decrease. Economists had cautioned before the report it could be noisy because of an omicron wave hitting while the survey was taking place.

The benchmark yield has jumped from 1.51% at the end 2021, as the Federal Reserve pivoted to more aggressively fight inflation, signaling it would slow down its bond buying and raise rates several times this year. Higher rates have weighed on stocks, especially tech shares with high valuations. The S&P 500 is down 6% this year.

Wall Street was coming off a horrid session in which a plunge in Meta shares dragged megacap tech stocks lower. Meta shares suffered their worst day ever on Thursday, dropping 26.4% on the back of disappointing quarterly earnings.

The Nasdaq Composite, which is tilted towards tech shares, fell 3.7% on Thursday for its worst daily performance since September 2020. The S&P 500 had its worst day in nearly a year, sliding 2.4%, and the Dow fell 518.17 points.

The sharp drop in Meta Platforms, as well as that of Netflix after its earnings last month, could signal weakness under the surface and have bearish implications for the market, according to Adam Sarhan, CEO of 50 Park Investments.

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