US Stocks Attempt Rebound, Bonds Falter, Regional Banks Rise: What's Driving Markets Friday?

It’s a mixed session at the end of a bearish week on Wall Street, with major U.S. stock averages reacting to conflicting economic data released Friday.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a stronger-than-expected December jobs report, with non-farm payrolls rising by 216,000 for the month, surpassing both November’s 173,000 and the anticipated 170,000. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7%, below the expected increase to 3.8%, and average hourly earnings exceeded estimates, rising by 4.1% on the year compared to the estimated 3.9%.

While everything seemed to be pointing toward reduced expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts and another session of declines on Wall Street, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released a survey on Service PMIs that fell well short of expectations, dropping by 2.1 points to 50.5 in December, compared to the anticipated 52.5.

Investors subsequently adjusted their rate expectations, leading to lower Treasury yields and renewed support for stocks.

At 12:50 p.m. in New York, the S&P 500 index was marginally up by 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 attempted a rebound, up by 0.2%, after five consecutive red sessions. The Dow Jones blue-chip stocks slipped by 0.2%, while small-cap stocks declined by 0.1%.

Friday’s Performance In US Major Indices, ETFs

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was flat at $467.11, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA fell 0.2% to $373.59 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ gained 0.1% to $396.89, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Sector-wise, the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC rose by 0.4%, outperforming sector peers. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund XLRE underperformed for the third straight session, down 0.7%.

Among industries, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF KRE outperformed, up 1.1%, while clean-energy stocks, as tracked by the Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF PBW, lagged behind, down 1.6%.

Friday’s Stock Movers

• Peloton Interactive Inc. PTON rose over 8%, gaining further momentum after Thursday’s 14% rally on the heels of a partnership with the social media platform TikTok.
• Agilon Health Inc AGL tumbled 33% after the company reduced its 2023 revenue guidance and JPMorgan downgraded the stock from Overweight to Neutral and lowered the price target from $17 to $9.
• Shares of real estate investment trust Medical Properties Inc. MPW plummeted 31% after the company disclosed plans to reduce its exposure to tenant Steward Health Care System.
• Semiconductor stocks rebounded with Nvidia Corp. NVDA and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD both up 2.3% following a bullish Bank of America note on NVIDIA’s cash generation due to AI-related sales in the coming year.

Read now: Nvidia Is Analyst’s Top Sector Pick With Potential $100B FCF For Growth Initiatives Such As AI

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