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16:30 ET Dow -53.13 at 10067.33, Nasdaq -31.65 at 2147.35, S&P -10.66 at 1073.87:
[BRIEFING.COM] A better-than-expected GDP report couldn't keep stocks from selling off and logging their third straight weekly loss, which has left the stock market down nearly 4% since the start of the new year.
Stocks started the session in positive territory and even made their way to a gain of more than 1%. The move was underpinned by an Advance fourth quarter GDP reading that showed annualized quarter-over-quarter growth of 5.7%, which was considerably stronger than the 4.7% rate of expansion that had been widely forecast. Core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased at an annualized quarter-over-quarter rate of 1.4%, which is slightly stronger than the 1.3% increase that had been expected.
Though Fed member Kohn indicated in a speech that interest rates are likely to stay near zero for an extended period if the economy follows the trajectory expected by the Fed, signs of strong economic growth brought back speculation that interest rates will be hiked sooner than later. That notion drove the dollar 0.7% higher against competing currencies and put the Dollar Index at a fresh five-month high.
The notion of a stronger economy also looked like it would reheat the reflation trade as commodities and natural resource stocks climbed sharply. The energy sector climbed to a 1.7% gain, while the materials sector made its way to a 2.1% gain. However, both commodities and natural resource stocks rolled over, which culminated in a 1.4% loss for both energy stocks and materials stocks. The two sectors had been the best performers in the early going, but ended the session among the worst performers.
Tech dropped 2.1% to finish the session with the steepest loss, though. Microsoft (MSFT 28.18, -0.98) led other large-cap tech lower as participants reacted in a sell-the-news manner to the computer giant's better-than-expected earnings report. Given that tech carries more market weight than any other sector, its weakness in recent sessions has caused a considerable drag on the broader market. During the course of the past 10 sessions tech stocks have dropped more than 9%, leaving the S&P 500 to lose 6.5% over the same period.
The drag of tech on the broader market was also seen in shares of Amazon.com (AMZN 125.41, -0.62), which tested three-week highs after the company posted an upside earnings surprise and issued upside guidance. But the stock rolled over to log a loss.
In a sign of conviction, trading volume on the NYSE surpassed 1.5 billion shares. That was the most action in one month.
Nasdaq -31.65 at 2147.35... S&P Midcap 400 -1.4... NYSE Adv/Dec 955/2065... Nasdaq Adv/Dec 929/1729.
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