Matthew Fox
Lucas Jackson/Reuters US stocks moved lower on Friday as investors weighed solid bank earnings against weak retail sales data.JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all posted better-than-feared earnings that indicated a resilient economy.But retail sales dropped 1% in March as consumers scaled back big-ticket purchases. Loading Something is loading.
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US stocks fell on Friday as investors sifted through the first wave of first-quarter earnings from the largest US banks and digested new economic data.
JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup all posted better-than-expected results as the banks benefited from a surge in interest rates. The banks also offered a solid outlook on future net interest income, and JPMorgan’s CEO said the economy remains resilient.
“The US economy continues to be on generally healthy footings — consumers are still spending and have strong balance sheets, and businesses are in good shape,” Jamie Dimon said.
But weak retail data in March weighed down stocks. Sales fell 1% last month, more than the expected drop of 0.4%. The retail sales data extended the decline seen in February and was driven by consumers pulling back on big-ticket item purchases like cars.
“A handful of earnings releases today from large banks exceeded expectations, but any resulting optimism is being tempered by retail sales data pointing to tapped-out consumers against the backdrop of an economy that is running on fumes,” Interactive Brokers’ senior economist José Torres said.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Friday:
S&P 500: 4,137.64, down 0.21%Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,886.47, down 0.42% (143.22 points)Nasdaq Composite: 12,123.47, down 0.35%Here’s what else is happening this morning:
A top investor in Charles Schwab dumped its entire $1.4 billion stake as the brokerage fell victim to turmoil in the banking sector.There is no banking crisis, and unease in the sector will help the Federal Reserve to cool inflation, the head of the International Monetary Fund says.Jeremy Grantham said the S&P 500 will tank at least 27% as a recession hits the economy.Ether has surged to top $2,000 and is trading at an 11-month high after the ethereum network completed a long-awaited upgrade that unlocks some investors’ tokens.Jimmy and Dee Haslam are set to buy a minority stake in the Milwaukee Bucks after they sold their gas station business to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.Retail investors are sitting on losses in 2023 despite a surprising rally in stocks, with the average individual investor’s portfolio down about 27% year-to-date.In commodities, bonds and crypto:
West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.58% to $82.64 per barrel. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, jumped 0.41% to $86.44.Gold fell 1.7% to $2,020.30 per ounce.The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped seven basis points to 3.52%.Bitcoin fell 1.26% to $30,348, while ether fell 1.10% to $2,088. Read next
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