The three major stock market indexes posted losses for the week, with the S&P 500 snapping a three-week winning streak that had lifted it to its best performance since 2020, as investors reacted to the Federal Reserve's more aggressive tone in fighting inflation. Throughout the week, investors parsed comments from Fed officials as well as the latest minutes that showed policymakers were considering raising rates and unwinding its balance sheet faster, which drove stocks lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% on the week, while the S&P 500 index dropped 1.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fared even worse with a 3.9% decline—its worst week since Jan. 21.
Top news last week:
- Commercial drone deliveries are here: The first commercial drone deliveries in the U.S. took off on Thursday as Alphabet's (GOOG) Wing unleashed its aircraft over the suburban towns of Frisco and Little Elm, which are located just north of Dallas, Texas. If successful, the service could revolutionize how goods are currently transported around cities. Wing has partnered with Walgreens (WBA), Blue Bell Creameries, Easyvet, and Texas Health for the initial rollout, meaning consumers will be able to order prescription pet meds and ice cream, among other items. How it works? Retail workers will load up the drones outside participating stores - rather than a Wing facility - carrying small packages that weigh 1.2 kg or less. They will then climb to a cruise height of around 45 meters above the ground and travel their routes autonomously (remote pilots will be on standby to take control if something goes wrong). Once a delivery drone reaches its destination, it will stay at roughly 7 meters while lowering the package on board into a customer's yard via a cable. Wing has been testing its service in the Dallas suburbs since last year following experiments in Christiansburg, Virginia; Helsinki, Finland; and Canberra and Logan, Australia (the division just made its 200,000th delivery). Amazon Prime Air (AMZN) and Uber Eats (UBER) have also promised to ratchet up drone delivery operations in the near future, but until now, the technology has been mainly focused on small-scale trials.
- Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Invests in HP: Shares of HP Inc. (HPQ) jumped nearly 15% Thursday after Warren Buffett's company snapped up more than 11% of the printer and computer maker over the past week in another uncharacteristic tech investment from the billionaire. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A / BRK.B) said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it now owns nearly 121 million HP shares, giving it control of 11.5% of the company. The swift market reaction to Berkshire’s disclosed stake shows how much investors still pay attention to what Buffett says and does. HP is now Berkshire’s second-biggest tech holding behind Apple. Berkshire owns shares in the iPhone maker worth over $150 billion. While Apple remains a steady growth provider, HP is more of a value stock. Before Thursday, it was trading at about eight times forward earnings, compared to a multiple of about 21 for the S&P 500 and 27 for Apple.
Top S&P 500 sectors last week:
- Health Care Sector + 3.44% (ETF: XLV)
- Energy sector + 3.2% (ETF: XLE)
- Consumer staples sector + 2.73% (ETF: XLP)
Earnings This Week:
Tuesday, April 12 Albertsons (ACI) and CarMax (KMX).
Wednesday, April 13 Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBBY), BlackRock (BLK), Delta Air Lines (DAL) and JPMorgan (JPM).
Thursday, April 14 Ally Financial (ALLY), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Rite Aid (RAD), Morgan Stanley (MS), PNC Financial (PNC) and Wells Fargo (WFC).
