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NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street wheezed to more losses Friday as it limped to the finish of its worst week in six months.
The S&P 500 slipped 9.94 points, or 0.2%, to 4,320.06 after a late-day swoon erased a modest gain it had held for most of the day. It capped an ugly slide caused by Wall Street's growing understanding that interest rates likely won’t come down much anytime soon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.58 points, or 0.3%, to 33,963.84, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 12.18, or 0.1%, to 13,211.81.
Pressure has built on Wall Street as yields in the bond market climbed to their highest levels in more than a decade. They’d been rising for months and accelerated this week after the Federal Reserve indicated it’s unlikely to cut its main interest rate by as much in 2024 as investors had hoped. The federal funds rate is at its highest level since 2001, which grinds down on investment prices as it undercuts high inflation.
Yields eased a bit Friday, which helped the S&P 500 stabilize somewhat following its 1.6% drop a day before, which was its worst since March. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.44% from 4.50% late Thursday. It’s still near its highest level since 2007.
The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, dipped to 5.10% from 5.15%.
When bonds are paying more in interest, investors are less willing to pay high prices for stocks. High rates hit particularly hard on stocks seen as the most expensive or forcing investors to wait the longest for big growth in the future.
Recently, that’s meant particular pain for big technology stocks. Nvidia trimmed its loss for the week to 5.2% after rising 1.4% Friday. The Nasdaq composite, which is full of tech and other high-growth stocks, slumped 3.6% for its worst week since March.
A couple tech-oriented companies got better news Friday after U.K. regulators gave a preliminary approval to Microsoft’s restructured $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard. It would be one of the largest tech deals in history, and shares of Activision Blizzard rose 1.7%.
Microsoft fell 0.8%.
Shares of automakers were mixed after the United Autoworkers said it will expand its strike by walking out of 38 General Motors and Stellantis plants in 20 states. The union did not broaden its limited strike against Ford, which it said has met some of the union's demands in talks this week.
Ford rose 1.9%. General Motors fell 0.4%, and Stellantis rose 0.1%.
Auto workers are looking for raises in pay and other benefits, and a prolonged strike could put upward pressure on inflation if shortages send prices higher. The strikes are just one among a long list of challenges looming over the economy, including a possible U.S. government shutdown, the upcoming resumption of student-loan repayments and shaky economies around the world.