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PCE index up 0.6% m-o-m in Jan after 0.2% rise in Dec
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Boeing slides on 787 Dreamliner jets temporary halt
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Adobe falls as DoJ to block Figma deal - report
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Indexes down: Dow 0.91%, S&P 1.04%, Nasdaq 1.56%
(Updates prices, details; adds comment)
By Johann M Cherian and Sruthi Shankar
Feb 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes tumbled on
Friday, on course for their worst weekly performance of the
year, as data signaling strong consumer spending and inflation
sparked worries that the Federal Reserve will stick to its
hawkish stance for longer.
All the three indexes were set for weekly declines of around
3% each, with the blue-chip Dow on track for its biggest
weekly decline in five months.
After a strong performance in January, stocks have retreated
this month as a slew of economic data amplified worries that the
U.S. central bank might have to keep rates higher for longer
amid signs of sticky inflation and a resilient labor market.
Data on Friday showed the personal consumption expenditures
(PCE) price index, the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, shot
up 0.6% last month after gaining 0.2% in December.
Another set showed consumer spending, which accounts for
more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, jumped 1.8% last
month, higher than the economists' forecast of a 1.3% rise.
"The headline and core PCE numbers were well above
expectations. What worries us most is that the data since the
last Fed meeting has been extremely strong," said Gene Goldman,
chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management.
"If the Fed had this data at the last meeting they probably
would've raised by 50 bps and the tone from the press conference
would've been a lot different."
Traders of futures tied to the Fed's policy rate added to
bets that the central bank will raise rates at least three more
times this year, with the peak rate seen in the range of
5.25%-5.5% by June.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said the Fed should
err on raising interest rates higher than necessary if need be
in order to get inflation fully under control.
At 11:52 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 302.42 points, or 0.91%, at 32,851.49, the S&P 500 was down 41.64 points, or 1.04%, at 3,970.68, and the
Nasdaq Composite was down 181.32 points, or 1.56%, at
11,409.09.
All the 11 major S&P sectors fell, with technology and consumer discretionary indexes leading losses.
Megacap stocks including Tesla Inc , Amazon.com Inc and Nvidia Corp slid in the range of 1.3% and
2.3% as Treasury yields rose. The yield on two-year Treasury notes , which are
highly sensitive to Fed policy, climbed to 4.826% - its highest
in nearly four months. Boeing Co slid 4.3% after the Federal Aviation
Administration said the planemaker temporarily halted deliveries
of its 787 Dreamliner jets.
Beyond Meat Inc surged 13.5% as the plant-based
meat maker's results indicated that its cost-control measures
were finally bearing fruit.
Adobe Inc sank 7.3% on reports the U.S. Justice
Department would block the Photoshop maker's $20 billion bid for
cloud-based designer platform Figma.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 4.28-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and 3.19-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded one new 52-week highs and seven new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 26 new highs and 131 new lows.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru,
additional reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Arun Koyyur and
Sriraj Kalluvila)
