Wall Street closes its worst week

Wall Street wheezed to more losses Friday as it limped to the finish of its worst week in six months.

The S&P 500 slipped 9.94 points, or 0.2%, to 4,320.06 after a late-day swoon erased a modest gain it had held for most of the day. It capped an ugly slide caused by Wall Street’s growing understanding that interest rates likely won’t come down much anytime soon.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.58 points, or 0.3%, to 33,963.84, and the Nasdaq composite dipped 12.18, or 0.1%, to 13,211.81.

Pressure has built on Wall Street as yields in the bond market climbed to their highest levels in more than a decade. They’d been rising for months and accelerated this week after the Federal Reserve indicated it’s unlikely to cut its main interest rate by as much in 2024 as investors had hoped. The federal funds rate is at its highest level since 2001, which grinds down on investment prices as it undercuts high inflation.

Yields eased a bit Friday, which helped the S&P 500 stabilize somewhat following its 1.6% drop a day before, which was its worst since March. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.44% from 4.50% late Thursday. It’s still near its highest level since 2007.

The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for the Fed, dipped to 5.10% from 5.15%.

When bonds are paying more in interest, investors are less willing to pay high prices for stocks. High rates hit particularly hard on stocks seen as the most expensive or forcing investors to wait the longest for big growth in the future.

Recently, that’s meant particular pain for big technology stocks. Nvidia trimmed its loss for the week to 5.2% after rising 1.4% Friday. The Nasdaq composite, which is full of tech and other high-growth stocks, slumped 3.6% for its worst week since March.

A couple tech-oriented companies got better news Friday after U.K. regulators gave a preliminary approval to Microsoft’s restructured $69 billion deal to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard. It would be one of the largest tech deals in history, and shares of Activision Blizzard rose 1.7%.

Microsoft fell 0.8%.

Shares of automakers were mixed after the United Autoworkers said it will expand its strike by walking out of 38 General Motors and Stellantis plants in 20 states. The union did not broaden its limited strike against Ford, which it said has met some of the union’s demands in talks this week.

Ford rose 1.9%. General Motors fell 0.4%, and Stellantis rose 0.1%.

Auto workers are looking for raises in pay and other benefits, and a prolonged strike could put upward pressure on inflation if shortages send prices higher. The strikes are just one among a long list of challenges looming over the economy, including a possible U.S. government shutdown, the upcoming resumption of student-loan repayments and shaky economies around the world.

Hanging above them all is the realization sinking in on Wall Street that interest rates may be staying higher for longer.

The Fed indicated Wednesday it may raise its main interest rate one more time this year. From there, the most commonly predicted path by Fed officials would be half a percentage point of cuts in 2024 from a level of 5.50% to 5.75%. Three months ago, Fed officials were thinking a full percentage point of cuts may be the likeliest outcome.

High rates drag down inflation by intentionally slowing the economy and denting prices for investments. They also take a notoriously long time to take full effect and can cause damage in unexpected, far-ranging corners of the economy. Earlier this year, high rates helped lead to three high-profile collapses of U.S. banks.

Economists have been pushing out their forecasts for the first cut to interest rates by the Fed next year. EY Chief Economist Gregory Daco, for example, now expects 0.75 percentage points of cuts in 2024, down from his earlier forecast for a full percentage point.

He says recent reports showing a cooldown in the job market suggest the economy may experience a “controlled landing” from high inflation, instead of the hard landing of a severe recession that some investors fear will result from interest rates staying higher for longer.

A report on Friday suggested business activity across the economy is stagnating. A preliminary measure of output compiled by S&P Global slipped to a seven-month low as businesses in services industries lost momentum. Demand was muted for both services and manufacturing providers.

In stock markets abroad, Chinese indexes rose following a report by Bloomberg saying regulators are considering allowing foreigners to own more shares. The report cited unnamed people “familiar with the matter.”

Also on Friday, the U.S. Treasury Department and China’s Ministry of Finance launched a pair of economic working groups in an effort to ease tensions and deepen ties between the nations.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 2.3%, while stocks in Shanghai rose 1.5%. Indexes elsewhere in Asia were lower, while European stocks were mixed.