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Newell Brands slips on lower annual forecast
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Lyft tanks 36.5% on weak outlook
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Energy firms climb on higher crude prices
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Indexes: Nasdaq down 0.97%, S&P down 0.09%, Dow up 0.32%
(Adds comments, details; updates prices)
By Shreyashi Sanyal and Johann M Cherian
Feb 10 (Reuters) - The Nasdaq fell on Friday as megacap
growth stocks came under pressure after Treasury yields extended
gains, while shares of ride-hailing firm Lyft plunged following
a downbeat profit forecast.
The Nasdaq eyed its first weekly fall this year,
while the S&P 500 and the Dow were set to clock
declines for 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.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to their highest in more than a month following an auction
of 30-year bonds that saw weak demand. "It's always about why those yields are moving higher ... if
they're moving higher due to inflation expectations going up,
that tends to be more negative for growth stocks," Brian
Jacobsen, senior investment strategist at Allspring Global
Investments, said.
The Russell 1000 Growth index that houses many
large-cap growth names fell 0.9%.
Lyft Inc plummeted 36.5%, on track for its biggest
one-day percentage decline, as it also lowered prices, raising
concerns it was falling behind bigger rival Uber Technologies
Inc . Uber shares dropped 3.9%.
At 12:58 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 107.24 points, or 0.32%, at 33,807.12, the S&P 500 was down 3.75 points, or 0.09%, at 4,077.75, and the Nasdaq
Composite was down 113.97 points, or 0.97%, at
11,675.61.
Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors fell, with consumer
discretionary stocks dropping 1.6%. The energy sector jumped 3.3% as oil prices climbed on Russia's plans to
cut crude supplies. Sharpie maker Newell Brands Inc slid 2.1% on
lower-than-expected annual forecasts, while also announcing the
retirement of Chief Executive Ravi Saligram.
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 await January consumer inflation data due
next week for clarity on the Fed's rate-hike path.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 1.25-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 1.63-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded 25 new highs and 58 new lows.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Johann M Cherian in
Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Sriraj Kalluvila
and Shounak Dasgupta)
