Azzad MarketWeek
Stocks fell last week, buffeted by concerns about stock price valuations and a possible government shutdown.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index declined 0.31 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.65 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.15 percent.
Stocks Under Pressure
The S&P 500 and the small-cap index Russell 2000 hit all-time intraday highs on Tuesday before trending lower. The decline turned into a three-day retreat for stocks.
Adding to the selling pressure was Federal Reserve Chair Powell, who made cautious comments on stock price valuations on Tuesday. Investors were also watching a possible government shutdown as Congressional budget deliberations appeared to stall.
It was the first time in six months that all three averages (Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq) declined over three consecutive sessions.
Stocks rebounded Friday after the Personal Consumption & Expenditures (PCE) Index—the Fed’s preferred inflation measure—was in line with expectations. The news appeared to reassure investors that the Fed would move ahead with its “penciled-in” rate adjustments for the remainder of this year.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted index composed of 30 widely traded blue-chip U.S. common stocks. The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 largest, publicly traded companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value weighted index of all common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The Russell 2000 is a market-cap weighted index composed of 2,000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common stocks worldwide. The U.S. Dollar Index is a geometrically weighted index of the value of the U.S. dollar relative to six foreign currencies. Market indexes listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.
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