S&P 500 off lows but remains under pressure as rate-hike fears dent tech

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- The S&P 500 moved off lows Friday, but remained pressured by a fall in tech as fears grow that the Federal Reserve could lift rates by more than expected amid recent data pointing to a stronger economy and sticky inflation.

The S&P 500 fell 0.25%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.23%, or 9 points, and the Nasdaq was down 0.5%.

Big tech remained under pressure as economic data including Wednesday’s hot wholesale inflation report stoked fears that the Fed’s rate-hike path rate has widened.

"In light of the stronger growth and firmer inflation news, we are adding another 25-basis point rate hike to our Fed forecast," Goldman Sachs said in a note.

Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) fell more than 1%.

Energy also brought the pain to the broader market, falling more than 3%, paced by falling oil prices amid worries that further Fed hikes will blunt demand.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG), Hess (NYSE:HES), and Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) were among the biggest decliners falling more than 5% on the day.

But the earnings front offered some reprieve as Deere&Company (NYSE:DE) rallied 7% after the farming equipment maker upgraded its annual profit guidance and reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that markedly beat Wall Street estimates.

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) also lifted guidance after its fourth-quarter results topped estimates on both the top and bottom lines, sending its shares more than 16% higher. The results show that the sports betting company’s business is “scaling to profitability,” Susquehanna said, raising its price target on the stock to $26 from $24.

DoorDash (NYSE:DASH), however, plunged 7% after reporting a wider-than-expected loss, though the food delivery company’s upbeat guidance suggested that it wasn’t yet seeing any material decline in the demand from pressures on the consumer.

“DASH management has not yet seen any changed consumer behavior inside its delivery marketplace and guided as such in terms of framing the GOV range for Q1 ‘23 and overall expressed optimism about sustained consumer behavior,” Goldman Sachs said as it lifted its price target on the stock to $71 from $67, though kept its neutral rating.