Credit: REUTERS/ANDREW KELLYBy Amruta Khandekar and Noel Randewich
May 20 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended mixed on Friday after a volatile session that saw Tesla slump and other growth stocks also lose ground.
Worries about surging inflation and rising interest rates have pummeled the U.S. stock market this year, with danger signals from Walmart Inc WMT.N and other retailers this week adding to fears about the economy.
Wall Street opened stronger on Friday morning before turning sharply negative and adding to deep losses sustained earlier in the week.
The S&P 500 closed about 18% down from its Jan. 3 record high close. Closing down 20% from that record level would confirm it has been in a bear market since reaching that high, according to a common definition. That would be the S&P 500's second bear market since the 2020 global selloff caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC was last down close to 29% from its record close in November 2021.
Weighing heavily on the S&P 500, Tesla TSLA.O tumbled after Chief Executive Elon Musk denounced as "utterly untrue" claims in a news report that he sexually harassed a flight attendant on a private jet in 2016.
Other megacap stocks also fell, with Apple, Google-owner Alphabet Inc GOOGL.O, Microsoft MSFT.O and Nvidia NVDA.O losing ground.
Shares of Deere & Co DE.N dropped after the heavy equipment maker posted downbeat quarterly revenue.
Recent disappointing forecasts from big retailers Walmart, Kohl's Corp KSS.N and Target Inc TGT.N have rattled market sentiment, adding to evidence that rising prices have started to hurt the purchasing power of U.S. consumers.
On Friday, Ross Stores ROST.O plunged after the discount apparel retailer cut its 2022 forecasts for sales and profit, while Vans brand owner VF Corp VFC.N gained on strong 2023 revenue outlook.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set for their seventh straight week of losses, their longest losing streak since the end of the dotcom bubble in 2001.
The Dow .DJI is on track for its eighth consecutive weekly decline, its longest since 1932 during the Great Depression.
Traders are pricing in 50-basis point rate hikes by the U.S. central bank in June and July. FEDWATCH
According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.72 points, or 0.02%, to end at 3,901.51 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 33.12 points, or 0.29%, to 11,355.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 9.81 points, or 0.03%, to 31,262.94.
Expiration of monthly options contracts on Friday was likely to boost trading volumes and could also add to volatility, especially toward the end of the session.
About two thirds of S&P 500 stocks are down 20% or more from their 52-week highs.
S&P 500's busiest tradeshttps://tmsnrt.rs/3Lte7Zj
S&P 500 bear marketshttps://tmsnrt.rs/3lrWFKr
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar and Devik Jain in Bengaluru, and by Noel Randewich in Oakland, Calif.; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Arun Koyyur and Grant McCool)
((noel.randewich@tr.com; Twitter: @randewich))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
