Nasdaq ends lower as Treasury yields rise, Lyft plunges

It was another very volatile but unusual day with the S&P wildly back and forth between red and black all day, the Nasdaq equally wild but in the red all day, and the Dow also wildly up and down but in the black all day. After yesterday’s rising yields on 30-year bonds kept investors away from equities, today the 10-year bonds followed suit with its highest yield in a month leading today’s expert to wonder “what the bond market is telling us that the economic indicators are not.”  

After a great January, this week saw losses across the board, the Dow suffering the least down only 0.17% compared to both the S&P and Nasdaq down between 1 and 2.5 percent as investors digest hawkish commentary and try to prepare for the Fed’s next move. The next step is parsing January inflation data due next week.  Volume remains below average at 10.4 billion. 

Fri  February 10, 2023  7:26 PM

Nasdaq ends lower as Treasury yields rise, Lyft plunges

By Carolina Mandl

DJ: 33,699.88  -249.13         NAS: 11,789.58  -120.94        S&P: 4,081.50  -36.36      2/9

DJ: 33,869.27  +169.39        NAS: 11,718.12  -71.46          S&P: 4,090.46  +8.96       2/10

Feb 10 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq ended lower on Friday as megacap growth stocks came under pressure after Treasury yields pointed to higher interest rates and shares of ride-hailing firm Lyft plunged following a downbeat profit forecast.  Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to their highest in more than a month following an auction on Thursday of 30-year bonds that saw weak demand.  "Investors are wondering what the bond market is telling us that economic indicators are not telling us," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research. "Higher bond yields are going to more adversely affect the higher growth technology companies."  But a rally in energy stocks as oil prices climbed on Russia's plans to cut crude supplies helped push up the Dow and the S&P 500.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) ended up 169.52 points, or 0.5%, to 33,869.4, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gained 8.98 points, or 0.22%, to 4,090.48 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) dropped 71.46 points, or 0.61%, to 11,718.12.  The Nasdaq (.IXIC) posted its first weekly fall this year, down 2.41%, while the S&P 500 (.SPX) ended the week lower 1.11% and the Dow Jones lost 0.17%, in a week dominated by hawkish commentary from U.S. Federal Reserve officials and earnings reports from more than half of the S&P 500 constituents.

That comes after a stellar performance by stocks in January. This month, however, strong jobs data and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stoked worries about how much higher interest rates may need to climb.  "What has been going on for the last few days is that every other day there is a Fed governor going to talk hawkish," said Kevin Rendino, chief executive of asset manager 180 Degree Capital.

The Russell 1000 Growth index (.RLG) that houses many large-cap growth names fell 0.33%.  Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) plummeted 36.44% as it lowered prices, raising concerns it was falling behind bigger rival Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N). Uber shares also dropped 4.43%.  Most of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors edged higher. The energy sector (.SPNY) jumped 3.92% as oil prices climbed on Russia's plans to cut crude supplies, while the consumer discretionary sector fell 1.22%.

More than half of the firms listed on the S&P 500 have reported earnings, with 69% beating profit estimates for the quarter, according to Refinitiv data.

U.S. consumer sentiment improved further in February month-on-month, but households expected higher inflation to persist over the next 12 months, the University of Michigan's preliminary February reading showed.  After U.S. equities were rattled over the week by strong jobs data, investors are waiting for January consumer inflation data next week for clarity on the Fed's rate-hike path.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.43 billion shares, compared with the 11.85 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.03-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.35-to-1 ratio favored decliners.  The S&P 500 posted 3 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 36 new highs and 68 new lows.