Stocks fell Friday, with Wall Street headed towards a losing week, as traders reacted to an ominous warning from FedEx about the global economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped over 100 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled to close out the week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
All three major averages notched their fourth losing week in five as the recent comeback rally seems to be only a bear market bounce. The Dow fell over 4% this week, while the S&P 500 is about 4.8% lower. Underperforming the broader market due to losses in growth stocks, the Nasdaq is down over 5.5%.
On Friday, FedEx
"Global volumes declined as macroeconomic trends significantly worsened later in the quarter, both internationally and in the U.S." FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam said in an earnings statement. "We are swiftly addressing these headwinds, but given the speed at which conditions shifted, first quarter results are below our expectations."
Shares of rival shipping companies like UPS
FedEx's warnings comes on the heels of August's hotter-than-expected CPI report, which heightened concerns that the Federal Reserve may force a recession in order to stabilize soaring prices. Central bankers are set to raise interest rates by at least 75 basis points next week at the Fed's September 20-21 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, according to most estimates.
Goldman Sachs
"If only a significant recession--and a sharper Fed response to deliver it--will tame inflation, then the downside to both equities and government bonds could still be substantial, even after the damage that we have already seen," Wilson wrote, quoted by CNBC.
Elsewhere, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index preliminary reading for September ticked higher at 59.5 from August's final print of 58.2.
"With continued declines in energy prices, the median expected year-ahead inflation rate declined to 4.6%, the lowest reading since last September," said Joanne Hsu, director of the institution's Surveys of Consumers, in a statement. "However, it is unclear if these improvements will persist, as consumers continued to exhibit substantial uncertainty over the future trajectory of prices."