What’s driving the markets on Friday? (ADJUSTED)

Stocks pause due to terrible consumer confidence; Yields, Dollar Rises as Inflation Expectations Rise, Bitcoin Sinks: What’s Driving Markets on Friday? (ADJUSTED)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct an error in Charter Communications’ stock price action.

A worse-than-expected May consumer report from the University of Michigan halted stock gains on Friday, prompting concerns about a possible decline in consumer health amid perceived increasing pressures on prices.

The report revealed that short- and long-term inflation expectations exceeded projections this month, causing the broader consumer gauge to hit its lowest levels in six months.

“If spending slows and inflation rises, we will get the opposite of the Goldilocks scenario that many expected, and the Fed will be in an especially difficult position of choosing between accommodating a slowing economy and combating rising inflation expectations,” he said. Chris Zaccarellichief investment officer at Independent Advisor Alliance.

Echoing this vision, Jeffrey Roachchief economist at LPL Financial, sees rising risks of stagflation, a concern that could disrupt markets.

At 12:05 p.m. trading in New York, the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, but rose steadily by 1.6% for the week, poised to secure a third consecutive week of gains, after three of losses.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose slightly, struggling to secure an eighth consecutive session of gains, the longest positive streak since December 2023. Technology stocks remained steady. Small caps performed the worst, with the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 0.9%.

Rising perceptions of inflation in consumer research rescued the dollar, which forecast a positive weekly close, after two negative ones.

Treasury yields also rose about 4 basis points across all maturities. The 10-year benchmark reached 4.5%.

Gold rose to US$2,385/oz, with the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) an increase of 0.8%.

Dismal consumer sentiment data weighed heavily on Bitcoin (CRYPTO: Bitcoin) with the largest cryptocurrency falling more than 4% from $63,000 to less than $60,500 following the report.

Chart of the Day: Michigan Dings Bitcoin Consumer Sentiment Data

Friday Performance in Major US Indices and ETFs

Updated at 1:05 p.m.

O SPDR S&P 500 ETF Fund (NYSE:SPY) remained unchanged at $520.20, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DAY) rose 0.2% to $394.65 and the high-tech sector Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) rose 0.1% to $441.38, according to Benzinga Pro Data.

Sectorally, the Finance Selected Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF) had superior performance, up 0.5%. O Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) was the main laggard, with a drop of 0.6%.

The story continues

Friday Stock Movers

• Novavax Inc. (NASDAQ:NVAX) rose by a surprising 122%, after the company announced a Covid-19 vaccine licensing agreement with Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY). The pharmaceutical company reported a smaller-than-expected loss in the latest quarter, but missed revenue estimates.

• MacroGenics Inc. (NASDAQ:MGNX) dropped 77% following an interim update on a mid-stage study of a cancer drug candidate, which reported the unfortunate deaths of several study participants. Furthermore, the quarter’s results fell short of expectations.

• Carta Communications Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) rose 4.6% after the company initiated a public offering to repurchase senior secured notes due 2025 for up to $1.7 billion in cash.

• Modern Inc.. (NASDAQ:mRNA) fell 4% after the company announced that the FDA will not complete its review of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) MRNA vaccine by the scheduled action date of May 12 due to administrative restrictions. The FDA said it expects to complete the review by the end of May.

• Companies that reacted to profits were Gen Digital Inc.. (NASDAQ:GER) up to 15%, Mettler-Toledo International Inc. (NYSE:MTD) up to 14%, Akamai Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A NETWORK) drop of 10%, Ubiquiti Inc. (NYSE:UI) up to 8%, DigitalOcean Holdings Inc. (NYSE:DOCN) increase of 6.6%, Construction Partners Inc. (NASDAQ:ROAD) increase of 2.6%, Sylvamo Corp. (NYSE:SLVM) drop of 5%, Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) increase of 1.3%, Marathon Digital Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) drop of 8%, Insule Corp. (NASDAQ:PODD) drop of 4%, H&R Block Inc.. (NYSE:HRB) increased by 9.7%, and Genpact Ltda. (NYSE:G) an increase of 5.7%.

Read now: Tesla German Gigafactory Faces Climate Protesters on Friday: ‘Why Aren’t They Arrested’, Asks Musk

Image generated with artificial intelligence via Midjourney.

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This article Stocks pause due to terrible consumer confidence; Yields, Dollar Rises as Inflation Expectations Rise, Bitcoin Sinks: What’s Driving Markets on Friday? (ADJUSTED) originally appeared in Benzinga.com

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