Stock Market Today: Dow Caps Off Another Losing Week as Recession Bets Grow

© Reuters.

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- The Dow slipped to a third-straight weekly loss Friday, following another wild week for stocks as investors weighed up the growing risk of a recession after the Federal Reserve delivered its biggest rate hike since 1994 earlier this week. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1%, or 42 points, the Nasdaq was up 1.4%, and S&P 500 rose 0.21%, but ended the week nursing its biggest weekly loss since 2020. 

Tech, which is down nearly 30% year to date, rebounded from a rout a day earlier, as dip-buyers were coaxed back into growth stocks after Treasury yields eased for a third-straight day.  

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), up more than 1% each, led the gains for big tech.

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE), meanwhile, cut some losses to trade down 1% after the software market cut its growth outlook, citing a tougher macroeconomic backdrop including the impact from the Ukraine-Russia war.

The stock is likely to remain under pressure “until investors can gain comfort that the expected declines in F3Q net new digital Media ARR and the operating margin are transitional, and EPS growth can return to growing faster than revenue,” Oppenheimer said in a note.

Consumer discretionary, which has come increasing pressure on worries that a weaker economy is likely to squeeze the consumer, also racked up gains as investors piled into beaten down travel and leisure names.

Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL), Norwegian Cruise Line (NYSE:NCLH), Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG) and Expedia (NASDAQ:EXPE) were among the biggest gainers.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell on Friday reiterated the Fed’s commitment to fight inflation, and talked up the strength of the consumer even as a slump in the stock market has made a dent household incomes.

“Recent indicators suggest that private fixed investment may be moderating but consumer spending remains strong,” Powell said.

The latest economic data, however, continued to flag building inflation pressures.

Industrial production fell short of economists’ expectations in May, but rising utilization rates caught economists’ attention.

“Higher utilization rates correlates with higher inflation and CU is not far off the highs reached last cycle,” Jefferies said in a note.  

Energy, meanwhile, fell more than 7% after oil prices plunged on fears about weakening demand as recession jitters grow.

Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN), and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) were the biggest decliners in the energy sector.

In other news, Seagen (NASDAQ:SGEN) jumped 12% on reports the company has been in talks with Merck for a while concerning a potential sale.

The rebound on Wall Street has sparked debate on whether this marks a relief rally that will prove short-lived or the makings of a prolonged move higher. Some on Wall Street have suggested the market is close to finding a bottom.

“Likely more to go in terms of market challenge over the short-run, but many of the metrics we track are closing in on levels that were associated with prior bottoms,” Janney Montgomery Scott said.