US equity indexes experienced a downturn after stronger-than-anticipated retail sales reinforced Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's recent remarks on the need for a cautious approach to monetary policy adjustments aimed at stimulating the economy. The S&P 500 plummeted 1.4% to 5,867.7 as trading continued on Friday afternoon.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a decrease of 0.8%, closing at 43,400.3, while the Nasdaq Composite fell sharply by 2.3%, ending the day at 18,673.2. In the market, sectors such as consumer discretionary, technology, and communication services faced significant declines, while the utilities sector stood out as the most substantial gainer. In a statement made on Thursday, Powell indicated that the US economy is "not sending any signals that we need to be in a hurry" regarding easing monetary policy.
This followed the release of producer price growth data earlier that highlighted a sequential increase. Additionally, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the consumer price inflation index had risen in line with market expectations for the previous month. Reports on Friday from the US Commerce Department unveiled a 0.4% rise in retail sales for October, surpassing the anticipated increase of 0.3% according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg, and following the previous month’s notable 0.8% uptick. US Treasury yields saw an uptick during intraday trading, with the 10-year yield rising by 2.9 basis points to reach 4.45%, while the two-year yield climbed 1.6 basis points to 4.31%. In corporate news, Applied Materials ($AMAT) faced a notable slump, with shares falling by 8% during the trading session, marking it as the poorest performer on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq after reporting a decline in fiscal Q4 GAAP earnings. Additionally, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices experienced a decrease of 1.7%, settling at $67.52 per barrel..