Stocks edged lower in midday trading on Wall Street Friday, pulling major indexes back from record highs as investors review the latest round of corporate earnings.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% as of 11:46 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 21 points, or 0.1%, to 35,753 and the Nasdaq fell 0.2%. The indexes remain on track to notch a weekly gain.
Decliners outnumbered gainers in the benchmark S&P 500 index. Technology stocks and a mix of companies that rely on consumer spending were the biggest weights on the index. Those losses offset gains in communication services and health care stocks.
Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 1.57% from 1.56% late Thursday.
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The latest batch of corporate earnings raised concerns that a persistent supply chain shortage could crimp economic growth through the rest of the year. A wide range of companies have warned that they are facing higher costs and will have trouble meeting a surge in demand for products.
Apple fell 2.8% after the iPhone maker’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenue fell short of analysts’ forecasts because supply shortages are making it difficult to meet demand. Internet retail behemoth Amazon shed 2.8% after higher costs and supply chain problems crimped its third-quarter financial results and its revenue forecast.
The warnings from Apple and Amazon raise concerns that the economic recovery faces a bumpier road ahead through the holiday shopping season as people pay more for products and wait longer to receive everything from everyday purchases to gifts.
The latest data from the Commerce Department shows that consumer spending grew just 0.6% in September, a cautionary sign for an economy that remains in the grip of a pandemic and a prolonged bout of high inflation.
Investors are wrapping up a busy week of earnings with several large companies reporting mixed results. Starbucks fell 7.2% after reporting solid fiscal fourth-quarter profits, but weak revenue. U.S. Steel jumped 13.7% after the steel maker reported strong third-quarter financial results and raised its dividend.
Outside of earnings, European and Asian leaders of the Group of 20 large and fast-growing economies are meeting in Rome. Wall Street is also looking ahead to next week’s meeting of The Federal Reserve as that central bank moves closer to trimming bond purchases that have helped keep interest rates low.
