Despite Friday’s decline, Dow closes trading week with gains

Despite declining on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had a good week as investors weighed a disappointing retail sales report that dampened expectations for a stronger-than-expected start to corporate earnings.

To reach 33,886.47, the 30-stock Dow fell 143.22 points, or around 0.42%. S&P 500 index decreased 0.21% to 4,137.64. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, fell 0.35% to 12,123.47.

The Dow, on the other hand, posted its fourth consecutive week of gains, increasing 1.2%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq recorded their fourth winning week in five. The Nasdaq edged up by 0.29%, while the broad-market index gained 0.79% for the week.

Consumer spending declined twice as much as anticipated in March, according to advance retail sales data. In part because customers spent less for petrol, retail sales fell by 1% last month, more than the 0.5% loss predicted by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

Lower petrol costs, which are generally seen to be a minor positive for spending, were a major factor in the retail sales report coming in worse than anticipated. As petrol costs have decreased, inflation has decreased as well, but this can change quickly, raising the headline numbers. More worryingly, core (which excludes food and petrol prices) has remained persistently high.

The positive news of robust corporate results was overshadowed by the poor retail sales figures. The stock of JPMorgan Chase increased by more than 7% after the bank reported record revenue that exceeded analysts’ predictions. Following the bank’s announcement of rising profits, Wells Fargo shares initially increased by as much as 2.1% before finishing relatively flat. Since the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month, these were the first bank earnings.

Other than that, UnitedHealth, which makes up the majority of the Dow, dropped 2.7% following what Mizuho called a “modest beat and raise.” UnitedHealth announced that it will be paying more on new diabetic and weight-loss medications from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, prompting the action.

Boeing, meanwhile, finished the day down more than 5%. The aircraft manufacturer issued a delivery delay warning for certain of its 737 Max aircraft on Thursday. There are low hopes for this earnings season. Refinitiv’s poll of analysts found that they anticipate a first-quarter S&P 500 profits decline of more than 5%. This prediction comes as businesses struggle with rising rates and persistent inflation.

The kind of information financial markets will receive and how confident firms are in providing guidance for the next three quarters in light of what is likely to be a slower economy will be extremely crucial.

Investors this week evaluated two reports that came out back-to-back and indicated a slowing of inflation. Even though experts surveyed by Dow Jones predicted prices to remain unchanged, the producer price index for March fell 0.5% from the previous month. While economists predicted a 0.2% month-to-month increase, the index decreased by 0.1% from the prior month when food and energy were excluded.

The consumer pricing index data for March, which was released on Wednesday, showed a pattern of declining inflation, which was supported by the PPI, which is regarded as a leading indication of consumer inflation. The yearly increase in consumer prices was 5%, which was the weakest in over two years.