Stocks fell on Friday as investors grew concerned over more hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who signaled a possible half-point rate hike at the central bank's next policy setting meeting in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted its worst one-day loss since October 2020, falling over 980 points, while the S&P 500 Index dropped 2.8% for its worst day since March. The Nasdaq Composite also lost 2.6% amid a decline in tech shares.
Friday's losses added to this week's declines, with the Dow marking its fourth straight week in the red with a 1.9% loss. The S&P 500 recorded a 2.8% weekly loss, marking its third in a row. The Nasdaq was the week's underperformer, falling 3.8% as Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) rattled the market this week.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -2.77% or -121.88 points to 4,271.78
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -2.82% or -981.36 points to 33,811.40
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -2.55% or -335.36 points to 12,839.29
Bed Bath & Beyond shares climb on buyout report:
Bed Bath & Beyond's (NASDAQ: BBBY) shares jumped in later trade on Friday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is considering offers to buy its BuyBuy Baby business.
According to the report, which cited unnamed sources, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and Tailwind Acquisition are among multiple companies interested in the baby supplies retail arm of Bed Bath & Beyond.
The company recently reached a deal with investor Ryan Cohen, chairman of GameStop (NYSE: GME) and co-founder of Chewy (NYSE: CHWY). Under the deal, Bed Bath & Beyond agreed to conduct a strategic review of its BuyBuy Baby business and add three new directors to its board.
Gap shares fall as company slashes Q1 sales outlook:
Gap (NYSE: GPS) shares fell on Friday after the company cut it sales outlook for the first quarter of fiscal 2022, citing "execution challenges" for its Old Navy division, and announced the CEO of that business, Nancy Green, will be departing this week.
The retailer is now projecting low- to mid-teens digit declines compared to the prior year, down from an earlier forecast of mid- to high-single digit declines.
CEO Sonia Syngal will work closely with the Old Navy team to search for Green's successor, the company said Thursday. "As we look to seize Old Navy's potential, particularly amidst the macroeconomic dynamics facing our industry, we believe now is the right time to bring in a new leader," Syngal said.
Here's how benchmarks started trading after market open:
S&P 500 Index: -0.36% or -15.81 points to 4,377.85
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.66% or -229.65 points to 34,563.11
Nasdaq Composite Index: +0.01% or +0.85 points to 13,175.50