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Lyft tanks on weak outlook
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Energy firms climb on higher crude prices
(Adds comments, details; updates prices)
By Carolina Mandl
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."
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 gained 8.99 points, or 0.22%, to end at 4,090.49 points,
while the Nasdaq Composite lost 71.12 points, or 0.60%,
to 11,718.46. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 169.88 points, or 0.50%, to 33,869.76.
The Nasdaq posted its first weekly fall this year,
while the S&P 500 ended the week lower 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 that houses many
large-cap growth names fell.
Lyft Inc plummeted as it lowered prices, raising
concerns it was falling behind bigger rival Uber Technologies
Inc . Uber shares also dropped.
The 11 major S&P 500 sectors showed mixed performances. The
energy sector jumped as oil prices climbed on Russia's
plans to cut crude supplies, while the consumer discretionary
sector fell. 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.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Johann M Cherian in
Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Sriraj Kalluvila,
Shounak Dasgupta and Deepa Babington)
