Fri, Sep 29 20234:04 PM EDT

The Dow and S&P 500 finished Friday lower by 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively. Those losses capped off a negative week for the two indexes.

The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, finished up 0.1% and was able to eke out a marginal gain on the week.

Friday also marked the end of the trading month and quarter. None of the three indexes posted gains by either measure.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 20233:50 PM EDT

Stocks reached oversold levels this week after the sell-off, according to Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial.

The Relative Strength Index on the S&P 500 — a momentum indicator used to measure the speed and magnitude of price action — slid to its lowest reading in 12 months, the strategist noted. He added that oversold conditions within the index have become widespread.

— Yun Li

Fri, Sep 29 20233:45 PM EDT

As the Federal Reserve's rate hiking cycle nears its end, fixed income asset managers could be set up for a rebound, according to Bank of America.

Analyst Craig Siegenthaler said in a note to clients Friday that the bank is sticking with its buy rating on AllianceBernstein because of its large fixed income business.

"We look for significant institutional and retail money to reallocate into fixed income following the last Fed rate hike in November. Accordingly, after three consecutive years of negative returns in bonds and net flow headwinds, we think 2024 will be the first year of broadly strong net inflows," the note said.

Bank of America has a $47 price target on AllianceBernstein, up about 60% from where the stock was trading on Friday.

— Jesse Pound

Fri, Sep 29 20233:41 PM EDT

Nvidia's next-generation Blackwell, or B100 GPU, graphics cards could be a major catalyst for the stock, according to Citi.

"B100 GPU could be an even bigger AI game changer than H100 at its launch from a technology standpoint and set for a rapid adoption which subsequently will drive up Nvidia's ASPs, sales, and margins," analyst Atif Malik wrote in a Friday note, adding that the technology is expected to be launched in the first half of 2024.

Citi also noted some estimated factors, such as if Nvidia adopts TSMC's N3 process technology, that could influence the performance of the company's soon-to-be launched GPU performance.

Analyst Atif Malik maintained his buy rating and $630 price target on the company. The stock is trading 0.6% higher on Friday afternoon.

— Pia Singh

Fri, Sep 29 20233:36 PM EDT

The Dow is on pace to lose 2.7% in the third quarter, which ends with Friday's close. Losses have been restricted by a handful of stocks that were able to advance, but it wasn't enough to outweigh steep drops in other names.

Amgen and Caterpillar were the best performers this quarter with gains of more than 20% and 10%, respectively.

On the other hand, Walgreens was the worst performer with a drop of more than 22%. American Express and Nike were the next two biggest losers in the 30-stock index this quarter, falling more than 14% and 13%, respectively.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 20233:31 PM EDT

A government shutdown looming on the horizon could dampen sentiment to start October even as Wall Street wraps up what's been a challenging month and quarter. 

Legislators are scrambling to pass through spending legislation by the Saturday, Sept. 30 deadline. A failure to reach an agreement by midnight will mean a shutdown commences Sunday, Oct. 1 when government funding expires, meaning more than 2 million civilian federal workers will be furloughed or working without pay.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Sarah Min

Fri, Sep 29 20233:24 PM EDT

Costco Wholesale continues to be an "attractive place to hide" in a challenging retail environment, Oppenheimer said Friday. The Wall Street firm said the warehouse club remains a top pick after the company beat earnings expectations earlier this week.

Among the reasons for Oppenheimer's bullish long-term view are Costco's "unique and improving consumer value proposition," its growth prospects, strong management teams and consistent track record of shareholder returns, analyst Rupesh Parikh wrote in a note to clients.

His $630 price target suggests nearly 11% upside from Thursday's close.

— Michelle Fox

Fri, Sep 29 20233:21 PM EDT

With the United Auto Workers' strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis entering its 15th day with no sign of ending, Wall Street thinks there may be an opening for another attempt at organizing workers at non-union Tesla. While Tesla shares have more than doubled so far in 2023, they have slumped almost 17% since their mid-July peak.

"Efforts to unionize at Tesla US failed in [the] past, but may benefit from recent momentum + weaker stock comp[ensation] upside in a renewed attempt," Barclays analysts led by Dan Levy wrote to clients Friday.

The biggest opening comes as a result of Tesla's share price languishing over the past two years, Barclays said. In the past, Levy and team estimated "stock comp has provided ~$5-10k of compensation annually to Tesla's U.S. manufacturing employees," but such gains may prove elusive now that Tesla's market capitalization has soared to the vicinity of $800 billion.

And while Tesla currently has a huge cost advantage over the Big Three Detroit automakers, the gap may narrow from wage pressures resulting from a UAW-Detroit agreement, the British bank said.

— Scott Schnipper, Michael Bloom

Fri, Sep 29 20233:12 PM EDT

Equities are facing a battle on two fronts as the Fed tries to lower inflation while heading toward a soft landing, says Barclays.

According to equity strategist Venu Krishna, the 10-year Treasury yield is approaching the point where, historically, it begins to show a stronger trend with S&P 500 earnings yields.

"Historically, strong positive correlation at higher yields is attributable to the pre-1991 era when the Fed was fighting structurally high inflation, as well as recessionary instances," Krishna said in a Friday note.

Meanwhile, the strategist noted that at lower levels of the 10-year yield, recessions can essentially turn the correlation between bond yields and earnings yield negative, which translates into more downside for equities even at lower rates.

"Going forward, we believe equities are facing a rock and a hard place depending on whether inflation or growth forces the central bank's hand first: entrenched inflation will motivate higher rates (like the pre-1991 era), which is negative for equity valuations, whereas lower rates also hold downside for equities if the underlying catalyst is a growth shock, i.e. recession," said Krishna.

— Hakyung Kim

Fri, Sep 29 20233:06 PM EDT

The Nasdaq Composite is down more than 4% since the start of the third quarter and on pace to cap off its worst quarterly stretch in more than a year. For September, the tech-heavy index is down about 6% and on track for its worst month since December 2022.

Some of the biggest quarterly losers based on the concentrated Nasdaq-100 include Dexcom, Fortinet and Dollar Tree, all on pace for a more-than 22% loss. Enphase Energy is the biggest loser, down nearly 29%.

Other big losers include Lucid Group and ASML Holding, down 19.7% and 18.9%, respectively, while Netflix's slumped 14.6%. The streaming giant is also a big loser for September, with shares down more than 13%.

For the month, Align Technology and Warner Bros. Discovery are poised for the biggest losses, with shares down 17%. Semiconductor stocks Nvidia, ASML, Lam Research and Broadcom have slumped more than 10% month to date.

— Samantha Subin

Fri, Sep 29 20233:00 PM EDT

The Dow and S&P 500 are on pace to end Friday's session down with just around an hour left.

The Dow has slipped 0.5% shortly before 3 p.m. ET, while the S&P 500 has shed 0.2%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite is on track to end up around 0.4%.

Friday's close also marks the end of the trading week, month and quarter. Only the Nasdaq is slated to end the trading week up. None of the three major indexes are on pace to finish the month or quarter higher.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 20232:52 PM EDT

Wolfe Research is seeing a bearish landscape for stocks.

A "deeply oversold condition is starting to develop," analyst Rob Ginsberg said in a Thursday note. The percent of stocks trading above their 50-day moving average is down to 15%, he said, adding that "we start to get interested below 20%."

Ginsberg said the market's longer-term momentum has turned decisively negative, according to the firm's technical analyses.

— Pia Singh

Fri, Sep 29 20232:42 PM EDT

Parcel delivery giant FedEx is better-positioned than its competitors, according to HSBC. 

The bank initiated FedEx with a buy rating, while placing hold ratings on peers UPS and DHL.

"We think its Drive and Network 2.0 transformation should set it on a path to narrow the operating margin and valuation gap with UPS," analyst Parash Jain wrote in a Friday note. 

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the call here.

— Hakyung Kim

Fri, Sep 29 20232:27 PM EDT

Government shutdowns send ripples through the economy, and one will likely start this weekend. However, the S&P 500 typically fares well during these periods.

Data compiled by Raymond James shows the S&P 500 posted gains in every shutdown period going back nearly 30 years.

Check out CNBC Pro's full story for more.

— Fred Imbert

Fri, Sep 29 20232:12 PM EDT

Information technology and consumer discretionary stocks have been able to avoid the S&P 500's slide on Friday.

The two sectors of the S&P 500 are the only two trading up in the session with gains of 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively, Real estate, the next best performer, traded near flat, while the remaining eight sectors were in negative territory.

Micron and Trimble boosted the information technology sector with gains of more than 4% and 3%, respectively. Nike and V.F. led consumer discretionary stocks higher, advancing around 7% and 5%, respectively.

As a whole, the broad index was down about 0.4% in the session It was also on pace to end the trading week, month and quarter down, which all also conclude with Friday's close.

Meanwhile, energy is the only sector of the S&P 500 on pace to end the week, month or quarter higher.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 20231:43 PM EDT

Despite being known for some big sell-offs, October has historically been a positive month for the market.

Between 1950 and 2021, the S&P 500 has ended October up 0.9% on average, while the Dow has gained 0.6%, according to data from the Stock Trader's Almanac.

To be sure, the month isn't necessarily associated with calm trading. After all, "Black Monday," a major and largely unexpected stock market crash, took place in October 1987.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 20231:19 PM EDT

Stocks traded near session lows shortly before 1:15 p.m. ET as investors readied for the final hours of the trading day, week, month and quarter.

The Dow fell more than 200 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 was down about 0.4%, while the Nasdaq Composite flickered around flat.

At session highs, the Dow and S&P 500 had climbed about 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. The Nasdaq Climbed had rallied around 1.4% at its best point.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 20231:11 PM EDT

New York Fed President John Williams said in a prepared speech on Friday that the central bank is "at, or near, the peak level" of the Fed funds rate but will need to maintain restrictive rates "for some time."

Williams also described inflation as "still too high" and said he expected to see slower economic growth and a rise in unemployment in 2024.

Read the full remarks here.

— Jesse Pound

Fri, Sep 29 20231:00 PM EDT

Six of the "Magnificent 7" stocks are higher at midday Friday, ranging from a 0.3% gain at Facebook-parent Meta Platforms to a 2.2% gain in Tesla. Only Google-parent Alphabet was lower, falling 0.3%.

In the month of September, however, six of the group of seven are lower, led by Nvidia, down 11.5%, Apple, off 8.7%, and Amazon.com, off 7.7%. The only stock in the group that's higher this month is Meta, ahead almost 3% in September.

Four of the Mag 7 are lower in the third quarter whose final trading day is Friday: Apple is almost 12% weaker in the quarter, Microsoft almost 7% and Tesla more than 4%. The quarters advancers are led by Alphabet, 10.1%, Meta at 5.9% and Nvidia at 3.1%.

— Scott Schnipper

Fri, Sep 29 202312:50 PM EDT

Check some of out the companies making headlines in midday trading:

• Tesla — Stock in the electric vehicle company added more than 2% in midday trading on Friday. Canaccord Genuity reiterated a buy rating on the EV stock on Thursday ahead of vehicle deliveries data. Elsewhere, Citi remained neutral on Tesla, and reduced its vehicle delivery forecast to 450,000 from 468,500. Last week, Barclays forecast a delivery target miss.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev — U.S. listed shares of the beer stock climbed 3.6% following an upgrade to buy from neutral, with the firm highlighting an inflection point for margins and a more innovative portfolio strategy.
• Carnival – Shares of the cruise operator slid 7% in midday trading. Carnival forecasted a loss of 10 cents to 18 cents per share for the fiscal fourth quarter, while analysts polled by LSEG anticipated a loss of 10 cents per share. Separately, Carnival posted adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share on revenue of $6.85 billion for the fiscal third quarter, beating earnings estimates of 75 cents per share and $6.69 billion in revenue. Competitor Norwegian Cruise Line also slipped 3%.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

Fri, Sep 29 202312:34 PM EDT

Friday marks the end of a trading week, month and quarter. With just around half of the session left, here's where the three major indexes stand:

The Dow:

• Week to date: down 1%
• Month to date: down 3.1%
• Quarter to date: down 2.2%

The S&P 500:

• Week to date: down 0.2%
• Month to date: down 4.4%
• Quarter to date: down 3.1%

The Nasdaq Composite:

• Week to date: up 0.7%
• Month to date: down 5.2%
• Quarter to date: down 3.6%

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 202312:16 PM EDT

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is on pace to snap a losing streak this week.

The fund has gained more than 2% this week, helped by gains or more than 5% in AMD, Teradyne, Nvidia and Marvell. If that weekly gain holds through Friday's close, it would end a period of three straight weeks with losses.

The ETF this week

Fri, Sep 29 202311:48 AM EDT

Burger King parent company Restaurant Brands International is leading a successful brand turnaround, according to Loop Capital. 

Following "another round of positive Burger King checks," the firm upgraded shares to buy from hold.

Shares of Restaurant Brands International gained 1% Friday. Year to date, the stock is up only 4.2%.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more about the call here.

— Hakyung Kim

Fri, Sep 29 202311:20 AM EDT

The Dow lagged in Friday's session, hurt by drops of more than 1% in Travelers Companies and Chevron.

The 30-stock index traded near flat, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose modestly. Caterpillar and Walmart were also among the worst performers, with both stocks down nearly 1%.

Those losses restricted gains for the blue-chip average, even as Nike and Walgreens each rallied more than 6% in the session. Intel and Microsoft were also among the top performers, with each up about 1.4%.

The index is on pace to end the trading week, month and quarter — all of which conclude with Friday's close — in the red.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 202311:09 AM EDT

The core reading of the latest personal consumption expenditures price index showed an annualized gain of 3.9% in August. That sub-4% figure is something to cheer, according to David Russell, global head of market strategy at TradeStation.

"Today's PCE data shows more steady progress on core inflation," Russell said.

And a year-over-year data point below 4% "could be a big psychological victory for the bulls and help keep a lid on the 10-year yield," he added. "It could be a bullish end to a bearish month and set markets up for more of a bounce into the year-end."

With the data, he said investors can now shift some focus from the Federal Reserve to the upcoming earnings season.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 202310:45 AM EDT

The crypto industry now has its own managed futures ETF, as Valkyrie announced Thursday that it is adding ether futures to its Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF).

"When we talk to financial advisors and institutional investors, what they really want is a dual strategy, or a multiple diversified strategy. ... They feel like they want an expert to make those allocation decisions, and they'll simply get the access," said Steven McClurg, CIO at Valkyrie.

The total expenses for the fund will likely rise due to the cost of buying ether futures, McClurg said. The fund's name is also being changed to the Valkyrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF.

With the potential approval of a spot bitcoin ETF on the horizon, Valkyrie's move could be followed by other smaller bitcoin futures ETFs that have lagged behind the ProShares BITO fund in gathering assets. Additionally, there are several applications for ETFs that only track ether futures on file with the SEC.

—Jesse Pound

Fri, Sep 29 202310:20 AM EDT

Bitcoin Coin Metrics is up 1.6% for the week, on pace for its fourth straight positive week for the first time since Feb. 3.

Month to date, Bitcoin is up 3.1%. This would be its first positive month in three months.

However, Bitcoin is down -11.19% for the quarter, putting it on track for the first negative quarter out of three.

Ether Coin Metrics hit a high today of 1,688.16, the highest level since Aug. 31, when ether traded as high as 1,724.65. It is up nearly 5% for the week, on pace for the best week since Jun. 23, when ether gained 10.67%.

For September, Ether has gained 1.06%, which would also mark its first positive month in three months.

Quarter to date, Ether has tumbled 13% for its first negative quarter in three quarters.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

Fri, Sep 29 20239:56 AM EDT

Zions Bancorporation has had a difficult year since the regional banking crisis in early spring 2023, with shares still down more than 30% year to date.

However, Citi thinks the stock has been "caught in the storm" and sees upside potential ahead.  Analyst Keith Horowitz the stock with a buy rating, citing positive balance trends.

The stock rose 4.5% on Friday.

Zions Bancorporation

To read the full story about his upgrade, click here.

— Hakyung Kim

Fri, Sep 29 20239:32 AM EDT

The three major indexes opened Friday's session higher as the market looked to make up some ground in the 11th hour of a tough month and quarter.

The Dow rose about 0.5% shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 climbed 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite added nearly 1%.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 20239:05 AM EDT

Anheuser-Busch InBev shares rallied nearly 4% before the bell after Bank of America said the company is approaching a margins inflection point.

Analyst Andrea Pistacchi upgraded shares to buy from neutral, adding that the company is "a relatively defensive stock for the current environment."

To read the more about the upgrade, click here.

— Hakyung Kim

Fri, Sep 29 20238:39 AM EDT

A key inflation reading showed price increases slowing in August.

The core PCE index rose 0.1% month over month in August, and 3.9% year over year, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said Friday.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting core increases of 0.2% and 3.9%.

Both readings were lower than July, when the core readings were 0.2% and 4.3%. The PCE is the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation dataset.

— Jesse Pound

Fri, Sep 29 20238:29 AM EDT

Aluminum prices hit a high not seen in multiple months in the final trading day of what's shaping up to be the best month since January.

The metal traded as high as $2,334 per metric tonne. That's the most expensive since May 9, when it reached $2,338.50.

Aluminum is up about 4% week to date. If that holds, it would mark its fifth winning week out of the last six.

Those gains have pushed the metal up about 5.7% on the month, with just Friday's session left. That performance marks the best since January, when aluminum gained around 11.2%.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

Fri, Sep 29 20237:58 AM EDT

These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves in premarket trading:

• Nike — The sneaker behemoth added nearly 10% following a mixed earnings report. 
• Blue Apron — Shares of the meal kit company jumped more than 100% after Blue Apron announced that it had reached a deal to be acquired by Wonder Group.
• Anheuser-Busch InBev — Shares of the beer maker gained 3.9% in premarket trading after Bank of America upgraded the company to buy from neutral.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Fri, Sep 29 20237:40 AM EDT

Investors can expect some relief next month with a turn in market sentiment, according to Katie Stockton, founder and managing partner at Fairlead Strategies.

"The sentiment is already somewhat washed out," Stockton said Friday on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We also have very oversold extremes of market breadth so that creates a backdrop for the market. It's easier for it to go higher."

"So you have the combination of support nearby, oversold readings into the corrective phase — which is now played out as that kind of A, B, C correction — and with the sentiment backdrop better it should release it to at least see some relief this coming month," Stockton added.

— Sarah Min

Fri, Sep 29 20236:38 AM EDT

Nike shares jumped more than 7% in the premarket on the back of fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations. The company earned 94 cents per share, beating an LSEG estimate of 75 cents per share. To be sure, the company's revenue fell short of analyst expectations.

"We're closely monitoring the operating environment, including foreign currency exchange rates, consumer demand over the holiday season, and our second half wholesale order book," said CFO Matthew Friend on a call with analysts.

— Fred Imbert

Fri, Sep 29 20233:10 AM EDT

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up by 0.4%, with most sectors trading in positive territory. Household goods were 1.3% higher, followed by tech stocks, which were up 1.2%. Oil and gas bucked the trend with a 0.3% downturn.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Thu, Sep 28 202311:51 PM EDT

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index led gains in Asia and rose 2.45% as Asian markets largely rebounded from Thursday's losses, powered by consumer cyclicals and real estate stocks.

Tech firm Alibaba Health was the top gainer on the index, surging 7.94%, while other top gainers also include sports equipment retailer Li Ning and property services manager China Resources Mixc Lifestyle, a subsidiary of property firm China Resources Land.

Thu, Sep 28 20238:43 PM EDT

Inflation in the Japanese capital grew at the slowest rate in a year, coming in at 2.8% for September compared to the 2.9% in August. The last time the inflation rate was this low was in September 2022.

The core inflation rate, which strips out prices of fresh food, stood at 2.5%, lower than the 2.6% expected by economists in a Reuters poll and also lower than August's 2.8%.

Tokyo's inflation rate is seen as a leading indicator of nationwide inflation trends.

— Lim Hui Jie

Thu, Sep 28 20239:13 PM EDT

Japan's factory output came in flat in August compared to July, defying expectations for a 0.8% fall forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

Year on year, industrial output slid for a third straight month, falling 3.7%.

Separately, retail sales rose 7% year on year, higher than expectations of 6.6% and at the same rate compared with July's revised figure of 7%

Japan's unemployment rate also remained unchanged, at 2.7% in August.

— Lim Hui Jie

Thu, Sep 28 20237:14 PM EDT

Stocks are on a losing streak. Each of the three indexes are on pace to notch their second negative monthly performance in a row for the first time since September 2022. 

Here's how they are performing this month: 

• The tech-heavy Nasdaq is down 5.9% so far in September, and is on pace for its worst monthly performance since Dec. 2022 when it fell 8.73%. 
• The S&P 500 is trading lower by 4.6% this month, and is on pace for its worst monthly performance since Dec. 2022, when it dropped 5.9%. 
• The Dow is down about 3% this month, and is on pace for its worst monthly performance since May, when it fell roughly 3.5%.

— Pia Singh, Chris Hayes

Thu, Sep 28 20236:47 PM EDT

One problem area Inker and Pease highlighted is the increased interest burden on corporate borrowers, as shown by public financials of Business Development Corporations. "Ares Capital Corporation (ARES) – the largest listed BDC – has seen its portfolio's interest increase from below 30% of EBITDA in Q2 of 2021 to over 60% in Q2 of 2023.The yields available from lending to that portfolio might be exciting, but that excitement seems a bit too large considering the concentrated bet that defaults are not around the corner."

— Scott Schnipper

Thu, Sep 28 20236:04 PM EDT

Check out the companies making headlines in extended trading:

• Vail Resorts — The ski resort chain's shares slid 1.8% following a disappointing quarterly report. Vail Resorts posted a loss of $3.35 per share on $270 million in revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter. Analysts surveyed by LSEG anticipated $3.24 lost per share and $283 million in revenue. The company also said its North American summer operations performed worse than expected.
• Nike — Shares of the athletic retailer rose 1.8% after it posted an earnings beat in the first quarter. Nike reported 94 cents earnings per share, while analysts polled by LSEG had forecast 75 cents per share. Meanwhile, revenue fell below estimates. Revenue came in at $12.94 billion in the first quarter, compared to Wall Street's estimates of $12.98 billion, according to LSEG.
• Blackberry — The cybersecurity company's shares added 1.5% in after-hours trading Thursday after Blackberry posted a loss of 4 cents per share, while analysts surveyed by FactSet expected a loss of 7 cents per share for the second quarter. The company's revenue of $132 million fell short of analysts' anticipated revenue of $134.3 million, according to FactSet.

— Hakyung Kim, Pia Singh, Alex Harring

Thu, Sep 28 20236:04 PM EDT