Wall Street closes sharply declining roller coaster week

NEW YORK, Sept. 17 (Reuters) – US stocks closed sharply lower on Friday in a massive selloff, ending a week shaken by strong economic data, concerns over corporate tax hikes, the variant Delta COVID and possible changes in the US Federal Reserve schedule for reducing asset purchases.

All three major US stock indices lost ground, with the Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) penalized as rising US Treasury yields put pressure on market-leading growth stocks.

They also posted weekly losses, with the S&P Index (.SPX) suffering its biggest drop in two weeks since February.

“The market is grappling with the outlook for tighter fiscal policy due to tax increases and tighter monetary policy due to the Fed’s cut,” said David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox Wealth Advisors in New York.

“Stock markets are also a little weaker due to the current weak data on consumer sentiment,” Carter added. “This raises concerns that the Delta variant will slow economic growth.”

A potential corporate tax hike could also weigh on profits, as the main Democrats seek to raise the corporate tax rate to 26.5% from the current 21%.

While consumer sentiment has stabilized this month, it remains depressed, according to a University of Michigan report, as Americans postpone shopping while inflation remains high. Read more

Inflation is likely to be a major issue next week, when the Federal Open Markets Committee holds its two-day monetary policy meeting. Market participants will be watching closely for nuance changes that could signal a change in the Fed’s cut schedule.

“It has been a week of mixed economic data and we are clearly focused on what will come out of the Fed meeting next week,” said Bill Northey, senior director of investments at US Bank Wealth Management in Helena, Montana.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) lost 166.44 points, or 0.48%, to 34,584.88; the S&P 500 (.SPX) lost 40.76 points, or 0.91%, to 4,432.99; and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) lost 137.96 points, or 0.91%, to 15,043.97.

The S&P 500 finished below its 50-day moving average, which in recent history has proven to be a pretty solid support level.

Of the top 11 sectors in the S&P 500, all but healthcare (.SPXHC) finished in the red, with materials (.SPLRCM) and utilities (.SPLRCU) experiencing the largest percentage declines.

COVID vaccine makers Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) fell 1.3% and 2.4%, respectively, as U.S. health officials shifted the booster dose debate to a panel of independent experts. Read more

US Steel Corp (XN) lost 8.0% after unveiling a plan to invest $ 3 billion in a mini-steel plant.

Robinhood Markets Inc (HOOD.O) rose 1.0% after Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest bought $ 14.7 million in shares on the trading platform.

Volume and volatility increased towards the end of the session due to the ‘triple witchcraft’, which is the quarterly and simultaneous expiration of stock options, stock index futures and options contracts. stock market indices.

Volume on the US stock exchanges was 15.51 billion shares, compared to an average of 9.70 billion over the last 20 trading days.

Falling issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.97 to 1; on the Nasdaq, a ratio of 1.00 to 1 favored advances.

The S&P 500 posted seven new 52-week highs and two new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 67 new highs and 82 new lows.

Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Krystal Hu in New York and Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang

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