US close: Dow Jones extends losses

dl nyse new york stock exchange wall st street city finance dow jones nasdaq sp finance dollar dollars us usa united states of america 2 — New York Stock ExchangeSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks delivered a mixed performance on Friday as fears of a potential economic slowdown continued to weigh on sentiment.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.13% at 29,888.78, while the S&P 500 was 0.22% firmer at 3,674.84 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.43% stronger at 10,798.35.

The Dow closed 38.29 points higher on Friday, extending heavy losses recorded in the previous session following rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, Swiss National Bank, and the Bank of England.

The blue-chip Dow Jones slipped below 30,000 for the first time in almost 18 months on Thursday, with the average on track for its 11th negative week in the last 12, while the S&P 500 was down 6% week-on-week, setting it on a course for its worst weekly performance since March 2020.

Quadruple witching also drew an amount of investor attention on Friday, with the final session of the week marking the simultaneous expiration of stock index futures, single-stock futures, stock options, and stock index options.

On the macro front, policymakers at the US central bank said they were "acutely" focused on maintaining price and financial stability, with the latter of key importance for meeting the Federal Reserve's mandate of achieving 2.0% inflation and full employment. In remarks prepared for a speech at a research conference sponsored by the Fed board, chairman Jerome Powell also highlighted how price stability encouraged other countries to hold and use US dollars.

Elsewhere, industrial production increased 5.8% year-on-year in May following a 6.3% rise in April, according to the Federal Reserve, with the mining sector recording the biggest increase at 9%, followed by utilities at 8.4% and manufacturing at 4.8%.

Finally, the Conference Board's leading index decreased by 0.4% in May to 118.3, fuelled by tumbling stock prices, a slowdown in housing construction, and gloomier consumer expectations.

No major corporate earnings were released on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

American Express Co. (AXP) $144.18 4.86%
Boeing Co. (BA) $136.80 2.58%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $163.26 2.13%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $234.72 1.74%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $131.56 1.15%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $247.65 1.09%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $59.43 0.61%
Visa Inc. (V) $190.01 0.51%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.03 0.39%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $161.88 0.31%