Stock market today: Wall Street closes its 10th successful week in 11 with a mixed result | National News

NEW YORK (`) — Wall Street wrapped up its 10th successful week in the quarter-finals with a mixed result Friday after an encouraging inflation report.

The S&P 500 gained 0.1% after earnings reporting season began with mixed results from Delta Air Lines, JPMorgan Chase and others. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 118 points, or 0.3%, driven by a sharp loss by UnitedHealth Group after its results. The Nasdaq was basically flat, rising less than 0.1%.

Stocks have been racing to record levels for months, pushing the S&P 500 to within 0.3% of its all-time high on hopes that inflation will cool enough for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates several times this year.

Those expectations have already pushed Treasury yields lower in the bond market, and they fell further after a report showed U.S. wholesale inflation was weaker than economists expected last month. The data bolstered expectations for rate cuts, a day after another report showed consumer inflation was higher than expected.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.94% from nearly 4% just before the report was released. In October it was over 5%, the highest level since 2007. Loose interest rates and yields reduce pressure on the economy and the financial system while driving up investment prices.

The two-year Treasury yield, more in line with Fed expectations, fell to 4.17% from 4.27% before the wholesale inflation report was released. Traders have renewed bets that the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates in March, according to data from CME Group.

Traders are largely betting that the Fed will cut interest rates six or more times by 2024. That would be a much more aggressive course than the Fed itself has indicated. She even warned against raising interest rates further if inflation could not convincingly move towards its 2% target. The federal funds rate is already at its highest level since 2001.

“The danger of the Fed fine-tuning is that it fumbles while the economy burns down,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “If they are data dependent, that means they are looking in the rearview mirror. Now they have to look forward through the windshield.”

Interest rates are one of the most important levers that determine the level of stock prices. The other question is how much profit companies are making, and analysts expect the S&P 500 to deliver a second straight quarter of growth after previously faltering under the weight of high inflation.

The reporting season for the end of 2023 unofficially began on Friday with a wealth of reports from banks.

JPMorgan Chase fell 0.7% after reporting weaker-than-expected results for the final three months of 2023.

UnitedHealth Group fell 3.4% despite beating analysts' profit forecasts. Medical costs for the healthcare giant skyrocketed, worrying investors.

Delta Air Lines fell 9% even as the company reported higher profit and revenue for the final three months of 2023 than analysts had forecast. The airline's forecast range for upcoming full-year profit suggested it could be below analysts' expectations.

The airline and other travel companies also suffered from the rise in oil prices, which put pressure on their fuel costs. United Airlines fell 10.6% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings fell 4.3%.

Crude oil prices rose on concerns about possible supply disruptions after Yemen's Houthi rebels announced severe retaliation for US and British attacks against them. A barrel of U.S. crude oil rose 66 cents to $72.68. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 88 cents to $78.29 a bar.

That helped shares of energy companies top the S&P 500 with a total gain of 1.3%. Valero Energy rose 2.8% and Marathon Oil rose 2%.

Overall, the S&P 500 rose 3.59 points to 4,783.83. The Dow fell 118.04 to 37,592.98 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.57 to 14,972.76.

In overseas stock markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.5%, capping a strong week in which it reached levels not seen since 1990, as the country's bubble economy began to deflate. Indices were lower in much of Asia but higher in Europe.

` business reporters Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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