Inflation incurs “Wall Street” its first losses in 6 weeks

US stocks suffered their first loss in six weeks amid inflation fears. Major indices closed the week lower after the hottest inflation report in 30 years. The Dow Jones fell 0.6%, the Standard & Poor’s fell 0.3%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.7% for the week.
On Friday, Wall Street closed higher, driven by the rise of market leaders, as investors skipped disappointing US economic data.
Despite the collective rise of indices, they ended the session with a close lower than last Friday’s level, which ended five consecutive weeks of incline.
Investors preferred growth over value, as major technology stocks led the gains, led by Microsoft Corp and Apple.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 33.54 points, or 0.72 percent, to record 4,682.81 points.
The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 156.30 points, or one percent, to 15,860.58. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 177.53 points, or 0.49 percent, to record 36,098.76 points.
Johnson & Johnson’s stock also witnessed a rise after the company announced the split into two companies and separated the health care sector from the manufacture of medicines and medical equipment.
But Tesla’s stock fell on news of CEO Elon Musk selling additional shares worth $700 million in the new chapter in a saga that began with a referendum that Musk put on Twitter whether he should sell shares he owns in the company he founded.

European stocks

In Europe, shares closed Friday at a new record high and concluded the week with the sixth consecutive weekly rise, as strong results announced by Richemont, the owner of the Cartier brand, crowned a season full of positive business results.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.3 percent to a new peak, recording 486.75 points, and rose 0.7 percent for the week. The index ended the sessions at record high levels in four out of the five sessions this week.
Shares of Richemont rose 10.9 percent and had the best performance for the day among European shares after the company’s profit for six months exceeded expectations and said it was looking for investors for its loss-making unit Yokes.
The luxury goods sector also received an additional boost from a 2.5 percent rise in luxury goods LVMH after news that Louis Vuitton plans to open its first duty-free store in China.
French blue-chip shares also ended the week at an all-time high, with Renault shares jumping 4.4 percent after Morgan Stanley raised its recommendation for the stock.
But shares in the travel and leisure sector were the worst performers in the week, declining 3.7 percent, as investors feared that European countries would impose new restrictions due to a new wave of the Covid-19 outbreak.
The oil sector shares led the losses of European shares, on Friday, down 1 percent, as crude prices fell due to the strength of the dollar, following bets in the market that the Federal Reserve (the US central bank) will raise interest rates earlier than expected.
The mining sector came at the forefront of the best-performing sectors in the week, up 4 percent, after there was some calm in the debt-ridden Chinese real estate market, especially the Evergrande Company, which pushed commodity prices to rise.
(agencies)