The S&P 500 index fell 5.7% last week with the consumer discretionary, communication services and technology sectors leading a broad slide as Q4 earnings reports came in mixed and added to investors‘ concerns about the impacts of the pandemic, inflation and supply-chain issues. The week, which had only four trading days due to the market being closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, is the S&P 500’s third consecutive week in the red. The index is now down 7.7% for the year to date.
Last week marked the first full week of US companies’ Q4 earnings results being released, and the reports only added to investors’ worries as many companies confirmed their concerns.
Every sector fell last week, with the largest percentage drops logged by consumer discretionary, down 8.5%; communication services, down 7%; technology, down 6.9%; and financials, down 6.4%. Among the other sectors with declines of 3% or more, materials lost 5.4%, industrials fell 4.4%, health care shed 3.4% and energy slipped 3.1%.
Next week’s earnings slate is expected to include many big names including 3M (MMM), Microsoft (MSFT), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Boeing (BA), AT&T (T), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), Intel (INTC), Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL), Chevron (CVX) and Caterpillar (CAT).
Data to be released next week will include January readings on consumer confidence and consumer sentiment as well as Markit’s January readings on the manufacturing and services sectors. Reports on December new and pending home sales as well as the December personal consumption expenditure price index are also expected.
In addition, there will be a two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting next week, with a statement expected Wednesday afternoon.
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