By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street oscillated on Friday and Treasury yields advanced as investors digested a flurry of economic data ahead of the long Christmas holiday weekend, capping a week fraught with concerns over the Fed’s restrictive monetary policy and related recession fears.
All three major U.S. stock indexes were mixed in the wake of Thursday’s sharp sell-off as a raft of indicators pointed to economic softening, evidence that the Federal Reserve barrage of interest rate hikes were having their intended effect.
For the week, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq remain on course for their third straight Friday-to-Friday losses, and all three indexes still appear set to close the books on their steepest percentage plunges since 2008, the darkest year of the global financial crisis.
“You’ve got low liquidity, and people don’t know what to do with this myriad of data,” said Ron Saba, senior portfolio manager at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina. “It’s inconsistent with a good solid direction that people have confidence in.”
A slew of data from the Commerce Department and the University of Michigan showed that while inflation appears to be cooling, so is consumer spending, which accounts for about 70% of the U.S. economy.
On the other hand, new home sales posted a surprise gain and consumer sentiment brightened.
“Investors are looking at the economic data and there’s no clear message that will tell you where things are going,” Saba added. “Everyone’s got a different opinion on how far the Fed will take (its restrictive policy).”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 30.66 points, or 0.09%, to 33,058.15, the S&P 500 gained 4.28 points, or 0.11%, to 3,826.67 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 24.16 points, or 0.23%, to 10,451.96.
European shares followed their U.S. counterparts down and up, as economic jitters wrestled with strength in healthcare and banking stocks.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.15% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.06%.
Emerging market stocks lost 1.00%. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 1.15% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.03%.
Treasury yields resumed their upward trajectory after data showed personal income rising more than expected and October inflation data was upwardly revised.
Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 14/32 in price to yield 3.7228%, from 3.671% late on Thursday.
The 30-year bond last fell 40/32 in price to yield 3.7908%, from 3.724% late on Thursday.
The dollar fluctuated but remained largely unchanged against a basket of world currencies after two days of gains as market participants weighed the probability of interest rates rising further and staying there longer than many might have hoped.
The dollar index fell 0.15%, with the euro up 0.17% at $1.0611.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.37% versus the greenback at 132.85 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.2059, up 0.13% on the day.
Crude prices jumped due to expected supply tightening after sanctions against Russia suggested its Baltic oil exports could fall as much as 20% this month.
U.S. crude rose 3.2% to $79.97 per barrel and Brent was last at $83.59, up 3.22% on the day.
Gold held steady ahead of the long weekend, as investors digested U.S. economic data.
Spot gold added 0.4% to $1,800.31 an ounce.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp in New York; Additional reporting by by Huw Jones in London; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Matthew Lewis)
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