US Stocks Close Lower on Volatility    01/27 16:04

   Another volatile day of trading on Wall Street ended Thursday with stocks 
closing lower after giving up an early rally. The late-afternoon fade extended 
the market's losing streak as it closes in on its fourth weekly loss.

   (AP) -- Another volatile day of trading on Wall Street ended Thursday with 
stocks closing lower after giving up an early rally. The late-afternoon fade 
extended the market's losing streak as it closes in on its fourth weekly loss.

   Markets are still processing the latest indications from the Federal Reserve 
a day earlier that the central bank is increasingly concerned about inflation 
and plans to raise interest rates and take other steps soon to fight it. 
Investors were encouraged to see strong figures for U.S. economic growth, which 
showed the biggest climb in GDP last year since 1984.

   The S&P 500 fell 0.5%. The benchmark index had been up as much as 1.8% in 
the early going. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped less than 0.1% and 
the Nasdaq gave up 1.4%. Smaller company stocks fell more than the broader 
market, sending the Russell 2000 index 2.3% lower.

   Stocks have been on a roller-coaster ride throughout the week as investors 
try to adjust to the idea of rising interest rates after the Fed's policy of 
near-zero rates helped boost stock prices for nearly two years.

   "I'd kind of characterize this as healthy whiplash," said Jason Pride, chief 
investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede. "The market's seeing the 
change in terrain and it's adjusting appropriately; the terrain is going to 
have higher interest rates."

   The S&P 500 fell 23.42 points to 4,326.51, its third straight decline. The 
index has notched a gain only five days so far in January. It's within 10 
points of entering a "correction," meaning a drop of 10% from the all-time high 
it set Jan. 3.

   The Dow fell 7.31 points to 34,160.78. The Nasdaq dropped 189.34 points to 
13,352.78. The Russell 2000 fell 45.18 points to 1,931.29.

   Companies that rely on consumer spending and banks were among the biggest 
weights on the S&P 500. Royal Caribbean fell 6.3% and JPMorgan Chase slid 1.8%.

   Technology stocks also lost ground. The sector has been a key driver for the 
broader market's swings as investors shift money in anticipation of higher 
interest rates. Pricey tech companies and other growth stocks are viewed as 
less attractive when interest rates rise. Nvidia fell 3.6%.

   Energy and communication stocks made solid gains Thursday. Chevron rose 2% 
and Netflix jumped 7.5%.

   Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.80% from 1.84% 
late Wednesday.

   The U.S. economy expanded 5.7% in 2021, the strongest calendar-year growth 
since a 7.2% surge in 1984 after a previous recession. It ended the year by 
growing at an unexpectedly brisk 6.9% annual pace from October through December 
as businesses replenished their inventories, the Commerce Department reported.

   The upbeat report came a day after the Federal Reserve raised some concerns 
about how quickly it will ease support for markets and the economy. It said it 
"expects it will soon be appropriate" to raise interest rates, and investors 
expect the first in a series of rate hikes to happen in March. The Fed also 
said it would phase out its monthly bond purchases, which have been intended to 
lower longer-term rates, in March.

   The Fed has been monitoring the impact of inflation on businesses and 
consumers and Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that the pressure isn't 
lessening. That could mean the central bank has to take an even more aggressive 
approach to raising interest rates and removing the support it put in place for 
markets.

   Businesses from a wide range of industries have been warning investors for 
months that supply chain problems and higher raw materials costs have hurt 
operations. Higher prices being passed on to consumers could prompt a spending 
pullback and hurt economic growth.

   Investors are closely watching the latest round of corporate earnings to 
gauge just how much companies are getting hurt by inflation and how they expect 
it to impact them moving forward.

   The technology sector has been hit particularly hard by supply chain 
problems with a longstanding computer chip shortage. Semiconductor equipment 
maker Lam Research fell 6.9% after saying supply chain issues worsened in 
December. Chipmaker Intel fell 7% after giving investors a weak profit forecast.

   The chip shortage continues to hurt the auto industry. Tesla fell 11.6% 
after telling investors that the shortage will stop the company from rolling 
out new models in 2022.

   Solid earnings did help push shares for many other companies higher. 
ServiceNow rose 9.1% after the maker of software that automates companies' 
technology operations reported strong financial results. Electronic storage 
maker Seagate Technology rose 7.7% and jeans maker Levi Strauss rose 8.4% after 
also reporting encouraging financial results.

   Every major index is in the red for the year. The S&P 500 is down 9.2%. The 
downturn is having an impact on initial public offerings after a record 2021, 
said Matthew Kennedy, senior IPO market strategist at Renaissance Capital.

   Three large companies have pulled their IPOs after setting a proposed price, 
he said, which compares with one postponement during January 2021. Several 
smaller deals have delayed their offerings.

   "The current market volatility makes it nearly impossible to get deals 
done," he said.

   He also said the shift in Fed policy has spooked investors, particularly for 
growth stocks, where even a few rate increases can have an impact on the value 
of future cash flows. He added that the reset for the IPO market could turn out 
to be healthy in the long term and part of the natural market cycle.