- US stocks ticked higher Friday, though they remain on track for the worst week of losses since March 2020.
- The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are down about 6% through Thursday's close, while the Dow is off 4.7% for the week.
- In Friday remarks, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank's goal of taming inflation.
US stocks ticked higher Friday but remain on track for steep weekly losses, as investors have had to grapple with the Federal Reserve's 75-basis-point hike, inflation fears, and a gloomy outlook for the global economy.
The S&P 500 is down 6% through Thursday's close, setting it up for its worst week since March 2020. The is also Nasdaq down about 6% so far for the week, while the Dow is off 4.7%.
Early Friday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank's commitment to tame inflation.
"The Federal Reserve's strong commitment to our price stability mandate contributes to the widespread confidence in the dollar as a store of value. To that end, my colleagues and I are acutely focused on returning inflation to our 2% objective," he said at a Fed-sponsored conference on the global role of the U.S. currency.
Here's where US indexes stood as the market opened 9:30 a.m. on Friday:
- S&P 500: 3,678.48, up 0.32%
- Dow Jones Industrial Average: 29,942.99, up 0.05% (15.92 points)
- Nasdaq Composite: 10,702.79, up 0.53%
Top economist Mohamed El-Erian said it's time to exit an artificial world of doing "silly things," as central banks finally make their move to stem inflation. He anticipates the regime change in Fed policy to be a bumpy transition.
But even as the Federal Reserve hikes rates aggressively, the Bank of Japan is sticking to its policy of keeping borrowing costs ultra-low. That has put the dollar on pace for its biggest yearly gain against the yen in the last 30 years.
Meanwhile, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has likely spent $1.3 billion on stock buybacks over the past six weeks.
Overseas, Chinese energy giants are looking to invest in Qatar's $30 billion gas expansion, according to Reuters. The state-run companies have their sights set on long-term liquefied natural gas contracts tied to Qatar's North Field East project.
Oil slipped, with West Texas Intermediate down 1.54% to $115.78 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, moved lower 1.32% to $118.04 a barrel.
Gold edged higher 1.70% to $1,851.20 per ounce. The 10-year yield slipped 8.7 basis points to 3.218%.
Bitcoin fell 1.60% to $20.585.85.
