Stocks wobbled in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and major indexes were on track for a mixed finish to a choppy week.
The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% as of 10:16 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 247 points, or 0.7%, to 35,630 and the Nasdaq rose 0.5%.
Smaller-company stocks fell more than the broader market, signaling that investors were nervous about economic growth. The Russell 2000 fell 0.6%.
Technology stocks made solid gains. TurboTax maker Intuit jumped 12.1% after raising its profit forecast for its fiscal year. Software maker Adobe rose 4.1%.
Several big communications also rose and helped offset losses elsewhere in the market. Facebook parent Meta gained 1.8% and Netflix rose 1.1%.
Moderna jumped 4.2% and Pfizer added 1.1% after the Food and Drug Administration opened up coronavirus booster shots from the two companies to all adults.
Bond yields fell significantly. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.52% from 1.59% late Thursday.
Falling bond yields weighed down banks, which rely on higher yields to charge more lucrative interest on loans. Bank of America fell 2.6%.
U.S. crude oil prices fell 2.3% and sent energy stocks lower. Exxon Mobil shed 4.6%.
It’s been a choppy week for Wall Street as investors reviewed earnings from a range of retailers to essentially close out the latest round of corporate report cards. More than 95% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported their latest quarterly results. Companies have reported overall earnings growth of about 40%, outpacing analysts’ forecasts for 23% growth made back in June.
Investors have been shifting their focus to rising inflation and that has pushed stocks into a bumpier path after weeks of solid gains. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, which both closed at record highs on Thursday, are on track for weekly gains after swaying between gains and losses throughout the week.
The Dow and Russell 2000 are headed for weekly losses.
