Gloomy Friday: Major Indices fell; Why Investors look Cautious?

On Friday, most of the US stocks slid as investors looked to keep this month’s gains going. Major Indices fell, DOW shed 7 points and S&P 500 declined 3.58 points. NASDAQ is down 34.67 points. Among commodities, the oil prices grew $1.46 to $74.36 U.S. a barrel but gold prices slumped $3.90 to $1,983.40.

Gap Inc (GPS) shares jumped 18 percent after the company posted better than expected results for the third quarter. The electric vehicle charging network ChargePoint Holdings Inc (CHPT) slipped 36% after announcing a shake-up in its C-suite and slashing its forecast for the third-quarter revenue.

On Friday session, Dow Jones Industrials dropped 17.01 points after market opened at 34,928.46. The NASDAQ index plunged 34.67 points to 14,079. The S&P 50 index dived 3.58 points to 4,503.82.

On Thursday, all three averages are on pace for weekly gains and that would mark their third straight positive week, as the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ are up more than 2% through Thursday’s close, while the Dow is on pace for a 1.9% rise.

Merely, these gains were sparked by U.S. inflation data that gave hope to investors that the worst of inflation and the Federal Reserve’s tough stance on rate policy may be in the rearview mirror.

Traders look cautious today, whether traders will be able to maintain that optimism for the remainder of the month. In November, the S&P 500 was up 7.5%, while the Dow had a 5.7% gain. The NASDAQ has jumped 9.8%.

The prices for the 10-year Treasury declined, raising yields to 4.44% from Tuesday’s 4.45%. The Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.