news/AAPL/2023.02.23/S&P, Dow dip as resilient economic data stokes fears of rate hikes.txt

(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock
markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)*Nvidia hits 10-month high on upbeat sales forecast*Netflix slips on price cuts report*Weekly jobless claims fall; GDP grows 2.7% in Q4*Indexes: Dow down 0.3%, S&P dips 0.02%, Nasdaq up 0.06%Feb 23 (Reuters) -Wall Street was mostly lower in choppy trading on Thursday,
with the S&P 500 on track for a fifth straight daily decline and
the Dow Jones Industrial Average down too, as investors remained
wary of further interest rate hikes due to recent strong U.S.
economic data.On a topsy-turvy day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up slightly,
retreating from a session high earlier of more than 1%. Megacap
stocks were mixed, with Tesla Inc up and Amazon.com Inc
lower.Stock markets have been volatile this month, with the S&P
500 shedding more than 4% in the past six sessions, as data
pointing to a strong economy and hawkish commentary by Fed
officials dented appetite for risky assets.The Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new
claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week,
reflecting tight labor market conditions.A separate report confirmed the economy grew solidly in the
fourth quarter, though rising inventory levels were responsible
for much of the increase.U.S. gross domestic product increased 2.7% in the fourth
quarter, according to the government's second estimate.
Economists were forecasting a 2.9% rise."Any incremental piece of economic data builds the narrative
of the bears in the market that the rally so far is a false
euphoria, and this is weighing on the market more than the good
news from some of these earnings," said Peter Andersen, founder
of Andersen Capital Management.Analysts polled by Reuters predicted a correction within the
next three months even though they expect the S&P 500 to
climb 5% by year-end.Right now, the S&P is testing both the 50-day moving average
at 3,980 points and the 200-day moving average at 3,940.Nvidia Corp surged 14.2% to the highest in more
than 10 months after the company forecast quarterly sales above
estimates and reported a surge in the use of its chips to power
artificial intelligence services.Other chipmakers also gained, including Broadcom Inc
up 0.4% and Qualcomm Inc rising 0.8%. The
Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index climbed 2.5%.At 2.06 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
fell 97.71 points, or 0.3%, to 32,947.38, the S&P 500
lost 0.92 points, or 0.02%, to 3,990.13 and the Nasdaq Composite
added 6.36 points, or 0.06%, to 11,513.43.Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors declined, with
communication services dropping 1.1%, hurt by a 3.8%
fall in Netflix Inc on reports that the streaming
service was cutting subscription prices in 30 countries.The communication services index was on course for its fifth
straight decline, which would be its biggest since another
five-loss streak in October.Energy was one of the few gainers, rising 1.3%
on the back of higher crude prices. Should the index
advance hold, it would halt a losing run at seven, tying its
worst stretch since an eight-session skid in March 2017.Among other stocks, eBay Inc slid 5.8% after
warning of dour demand in the first half of 2023 due to strained
consumer spending in the United States and Europe.Moderna Inc fell 8.4% after the vaccine maker
reaffirmed its annual sales forecast of $5 billion for its
COVID-19 vaccines despite its fourth-quarter sales exceeding
estimates.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian and Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru
and David French in New York; Editing by Savio D'Souza, Arun
Koyyur, Anil D'Silva and David Gregorio)