Stock market today: Wall Street posts a rare losing week but remains close to its record | National News

NEW YORK (`) — Stocks fell Friday, giving Wall Street a rare losing week, only the second in the last 16.

The S&P 500 fell 0.5% from its all-time high set the previous day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 145 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8%.

A report this morning on wholesale inflation was a recent reminder that the fight against rising prices is not yet over. Prices rose more in January than economists expected, and the numbers followed a similar report earlier in the week that showed the cost of living for U.S. consumers rose more than forecast.

Treasury yields rose immediately after the report was released, adding pressure to the stock market.

The data left hope that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates in March, as traders had previously hoped. It also discouraged bets that the Fed could take action to ease conditions for the economy and financial markets as early as May.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.28% from 4.24% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, more in line with Fed expectations, hit its highest level since December.

Higher interest rates and returns make borrowing more expensive, which slows the economy and weighs on investment prices.

Still, the recalibrated rate cut bets have only brought Wall Street's forecasts closer to the Federal Reserve's forecasts. Critics say traders' expectations have been exaggerated about how quickly and how deeply the Fed could cut interest rates in 2024.

The general expectation for the Fed's next move is still a cut in the key interest rate, which is at its highest level since 2001, which is likely to be the case.

“After a stunning rally since October, markets are likely to take a well-deserved breather, although the lack of an emotional reaction to increased inflation readings and changing Fed expectations reflects investor optimism,” Nationwide head of investment research Mark Hackett said.

In the meantime, there is hope that the economy remains solid despite the challenge of high interest rates.

A preliminary report on Thursday suggested that sentiment among U.S. consumers is improving, although not quite as much as economists had hoped. This is crucial because consumer spending accounts for the majority of the economy.

In a potentially discouraging signal, the University of Michigan report also said inflation expectations for the next 12 months rose to 3% in February from 2.9% in January.

If the economy remains resilient, companies could see earnings growth, which could support stock prices.

Applied Materials rose 6.3% after the company reported higher profit than analysts expected for its latest quarter. The company develops and manufactures systems for producing semiconductor chips and benefits from the current enthusiasm for artificial intelligence technology.

Cryptocurrency company Coinbase Global rose 8.8% after reporting significantly better-than-forecast results for its latest quarter. Higher crypto prices helped boost the company's transaction revenue.

On the losing side was Digital Realty, which fell 8.3%. The data center owner reported weaker than expected results.

Overall, the S&P 500 fell 24.16 points to 5,005.57. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 145.13 to 38,627.99 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 130.52 to 15,775.65.

On stock markets abroad, indices rose in large parts of Europe and Asia.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 0.9%, approaching its record high set in late 1989. That was just before Japan's “bubble” economy burst as stock and property prices collapsed.

Japanese stocks have risen recently even as the Japanese economy has shrunk to the fourth largest in the world.

` business reporters Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

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