Stocks were mixed on Friday as the start of the fourth-quarter earnings season and the release of another December inflation report left investors searching for direction. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 100 points, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite both closed slightly above a positive flatline.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.08% or +3.59 points to 4,783.83
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.31% or -118.04 points to 37,592.98
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.02% or +2.58 points to 14,972.76
Making headlines, wholesale prices declined in December, the Labor Department reported on Friday, offering another sign that inflationary pressures are easing. The producer price index (PPI) fell 0.1% for the month and rose 1% year-over-year. The index had climbed 6.4% in 2022.
Excluding food and energy prices, core PPI was flat month-over-month, while excluding food, energy and trade services saw PPI rise 0.2% in December. For the full year, core PPI rose 2.5% compared to an increase of 4.7% in 2022.
On the earnings front, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) shares ticked lower on Friday after the largest U.S. bank by assets reported a profit decline in the fourth-quarter due to a $2.9 billion fee connected to last year's string of regional bank failures.
"The U.S. economy continues to be resilient, with consumer still spending, and markets currently expect a soft landing," CEO Jamie Dimon said in a release. However, Dimon cautioned that deficit spending and "an ongoing need for increased spending due to the green economy, the restructuring of global supply chains, higher military spending and rising healthcare costs," could "lead inflation to be stickier and rates to be higher than markets expect."
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) shares declined on Friday after the bank reported a more than 50% year-over-year decline in net income in its latest quarter. Still, CEO Brian Moynihan said that all of BAC's "businesses achieved strong organic growth, with record client activity and digital engagement," in a statement.
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) shares shares came under pressure on Friday despite the bank posting better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, as the company warned its net interest income for 2024 could be impacted by higher interest rates.
"As we look forward, our business performance remains sensitive to interest rates and the health of the U.S. economy, but we are confident that the actions we are taking will drive stronger returns over the cycle," said CEO Charlie Scharf in the earnings release. "We are closely monitoring credit and while we see modest deterioration, it remains consistent with our expectations."
Citigroup (NYSE: C) shares fell on Friday after the bank reported a $1.8 billion loss in its fourth-quarter and CEO Jane Fraser announced new job cuts impacting about 20,000 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce.
Beyond big banks' earnings, shares of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHG) declined on Friday despite the health insurance giant delivering better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) shares also fell after the airline reported mixed fourth-quarter earnings.
In single-stock news, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) disclosed on Thursday that the electric vehicle maker will halt most of its production at its Berlin, Germany production factory from Jan. 29 to Feb. 11 due to supply impacts from shipping disruptions in the Red Sea.
Looking ahead, market participants will continue to focus on fourth-quarter earnings, with Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), and State Street (NYSE: STT) among the companies slated to report.