Stocks ended Friday's session mixed as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed higher while the Dow Jones Industrial Average sunk over 200 points lower as major bank stocks dropped into the red. Despite the choppy gains, Wall Street posted its second straight negative week for the year.
For the week, the Dow was the biggest loser, dropping by 0.88%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lost 0.30% and 0.28%, respectively. This was the tech-heavy Nasdaq's third negative week in a row.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Consumer sentiment declined in early January:
U.S. consumer sentiment fell in early January, reaching its lowest reading in a decade, as concerns over rising inflation and COVID clouded outlooks.
The University of Michigan's preliminary Surveys of Consumers index reading for January came in at 68.8, declining from December's print of 70.6.
"While the Delta and Omicron variants certainly contributed to this downward shift, the decline was also due to an escalating inflation rate," Richard Curtin, Surveys of Consumers chief economist wrote in a statement. "Three-quarters of consumers in early January ranked inflation, compared with unemployment, as the more serious problem facing the nation."
Consumers' one-year inflation expectations ticked up to 4.9%, the highest level since 2008, from December's 4.8%.
Retail sales fell broadly in December:
U.S. retail sales fell by a greater-than-expected rate last month as consumer spending lessened heading into the new year.
Retail sales declined 1.9% in December compared to November, according to the Commerce Department's report published Friday, marking the first monthly drop since July and the biggest since February. In November, sales were upwardly revised to an increase of 0.2%.
By category, e-commerce stores posted the biggest monthly drop, falling by 8.7%. Moreover, department store sales fell by 7.0%, and furniture and home furnishing sales declined by 5.5%; most categories saw a monthly drop in sales. Meanwhile, building material stores and miscellaneous retailers saw sales increased by over 1%.
Here's how market benchmarks started trading after open:
S&P 500 Index: -0.61% or -28.25 points to 4,630.78
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.76% or -337.64 points to 35,775.98
Nasdaq Composite Index: -0.34% or -51.93 points to 14,756.56
