Stock Market Today: Tech Gets Respite From Recent Selling
Treasury yields cooled off Friday, and so did the Dow and S&P 500, while the recently maligned Nasdaq and several of its tech components enjoyed a modest rebound.
Wall Street flipped the week's script on Friday, with a cooling-off in interest rates stunting value-oriented stocks while providing much-needed relief for "growthier" names.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged the broader indices with a 1.5% decline to 30,932, while the S&P 500 declined 0.5% to 3,811. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, got a lift from the recently sold-off technology and communications sectors; stocks such as Facebook (FB, +1.2%), Nvidia (NVDA, +3.1%) and Microsoft (MSFT, +1.5%) helped lead a modest 0.6% rebound in the tech-heavy index.
Despite the rebound, the Nasdaq remained down 4.9% for the week, the result of interest-rate fears, versus 1.8% and 2.4% losses for the Dow and S&P 500, respectively.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
"Many market participants have referenced the infamous 'Taper Tantrum' in 2013 as a similar playbook to today as a reason why we're seeing equity market weakness," says Brian Price, head of investment management for Commonwealth Financial Network. But he also points out that "the notable difference today ... is that the Fed seems very committed to letting the economy run a little hotter than normal and will tolerate higher inflation."
Other action in the stock market today:
- The small-cap Russell 2000 eked out a marginal gain to 2,201.
- U.S. crude oil futures sank 3.2% to $61.50 per barrel, but still finished February up 18%.
- Gold futures sank, too, dropping 2.6% to $1,728.80 per ounce, plumbing nine-month lows.
- Bitcoin prices, at $48,870 on Thursday, dropped 5.1% to $46,381. (Bitcoin trades 24 hours a day; prices reported here are as of 4 p.m. each trading day.)
Earnings Estimates Are Looking Up!
Whatever the market faces in the short term, analysts see better times further on in the year.
Economic expectations are improving as more Americans are inoculated against COVID-19; nearly 14% of the population has received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That has analysts quickly scaling up their earnings estimates. Current-quarter profit expectations have improved by 5% over the first two months of Q1. According to FactSet Senior Earnings Analyst John Butters, that's "the second-highest increase in the bottom-up EPS estimate during the first two months of a quarter since FactSet began tracking this metric in Q2 2002," trailing only Q1 2018's 5.7% increase.
That augurs well for much of the market – including a number of dividend-rich sectors and industries. Many real estate investment trusts (REITs), especially in the retail and hospitality industries, are poised for better results as foot traffic picks up. And an economic recovery bodes well for business development companies (BDCs), as well as the small and midsized businesses in which they invest.
Investors will find plenty of attractive income opportunities across the equity board – though if you're looking for somewhere to start, we suggest you begin with our list of 21 high-quality (and high-yielding) stocks that are suitable for those looking to retirement (or even in it). These names offer an appealing blend of payout potential and income stability that just about any long-term buy-and-holder can appreciate.
Disclaimer
Kyle Woodley was long NVDA and Bitcoin as of this writing.
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Kyle Woodley is the Editor-in-Chief of WealthUp, a site dedicated to improving the personal finances and financial literacy of people of all ages. He also writes the weekly The Weekend Tea newsletter, which covers both news and analysis about spending, saving, investing, the economy and more.
Kyle was previously the Senior Investing Editor for Kiplinger.com, and the Managing Editor for InvestorPlace.com before that. His work has appeared in several outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money, Barchart, The Globe & Mail and the Nasdaq. He also has appeared as a guest on Fox Business Network and Money Radio, among other shows and podcasts, and he has been quoted in several outlets, including MarketWatch, Vice and Univision. He is a proud graduate of The Ohio State University, where he earned a BA in journalism.
You can check out his thoughts on the markets (and more) at @KyleWoodley.
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Outperforms After IBM Earnings
Investors also parsed a strong reading on second-quarter GDP and a dismal decline in durable goods.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Try the 6 to 1 Grocery Shopping Method to Save Time and Money
The 6 to 1 Grocery Method can help you save money, reduce waste and eat healthier.
By Erin Bendig Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Outperforms After IBM Earnings
Investors also parsed a strong reading on second-quarter GDP and a dismal decline in durable goods.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Tumble on Disappointing Big Tech Earnings
Poorly received quarterly results from Alphabet and Tesla sparked a steep selloff in equities.
By Dan Burrows Last updated
-
Stock Market Today: Mega-Cap Tech Rallies to Drag Markets Higher
Markets focused on upcoming earnings from Magnificent 7 stocks rather than chaos in D.C.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Stocks Tumble After Spectacular Global Internet Crash
Market participants rushed out of risk assets to end a wild week of trading.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Sinks 533 Points as Big Banks, Mega Caps Slump
Goldman Sachs and Apple were two of the worst-performing blue chip stocks on Thursday.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Semis Get Slammed and Blue Chips Bounce
The potential for more curbs on tech sales to China set off a rotation into blue chips.
By Dan Burrows Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Spikes 742 Points After UnitedHealth Earnings
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also scored wins Tuesday albeit with much smaller gains than the blue chip Dow.
By Karee Venema Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Adds 210 Points as Apple, Goldman Hit New Highs
A big rally in blue chips and some dovish Fed speak boosted the equities market Monday.
By Karee Venema Published