Stock Market this Week: Fed Hikes, Health Care Leads, and Crypto Stalls

Marley Kayden (0:00)

Welcome to The Wrap. I'm Marley Kayden, here to take you through today's market action. Let's take a look at where the markets closed for the week. The S&P 500 was lower by a tenth of a percent. The Dow fell by one and seven tenths of a percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was the only one positive on the week as it was higher by just shy of one percent. And the small cap Russell 2000 was lower by one and a half percent. As we look at the leading and lagging sectors for the week, to the upside, we had health care up one and three quarters of a percent, communication services up one and a tenth percent, and technology gained just over one percent. Utilities were the big laggard this week, falling three percent. Financials and real estate were both lower by about two and a third percent. As we look across the top stories of the week, the FOMC raised rates 25 basis points as anticipated on Wednesday. That's the first rate hike since 2023 Fed official projections point to another hike before the end of the year. The Fed said that inflation remains elevated and economic activity is expanding at a solid pace. It says that the move supports a timelier return to its two percent inflation target. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said inflation remains too high and that summer data showed no meaningful improvement in underlying inflation trends. He emphasized that bringing inflation under control remains the Fed's top priority. Bitcoin gained five percent this week after the Clarity Act failed to advance in the Senate. The Crypto Market Structure Bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to clear a procedural hurdle. The results leave legislation stalled after months of negotiations. And shares of JB Hunt fell 13 percent this week after it warned its third quarter earnings could fall five to ten percent. The trucking company cited record high diesel prices and recruiting and training expenses. As we look ahead to next week, for economic data we'll get PMI composite flash on Wednesday, jobless claims, building permits and new home sales on Thursday, and Friday we'll get durable goods and consumer sentiment. On the earnings front, on Tuesday KB Home will report, Wednesday we'll get General Mills, and on Thursday we'll get reports from Darden Restaurants and Costco. That is going to do it for the wrap. I'm Marley Kayden. Remember you can tune in 24-7 to schwabnetwork.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel.