US Stocks Eke Out Steady Finish to Volatile Week After Federal Reserve Stimulus Taper Plan

NEW YORK (Sputnik) - US stocks mostly eked out a steady finish on Friday to a week made volatile by the Federal Reserve’s stimulus taper plan and the debt crisis at China’s property developer Evergrande.

The blue-chip S&P 500 and the broad-based Dow Jones Industrial Average both ended in positive territory after landing about a tenth of a percent in gains, while the technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index slipped into the red.

“Wall Street is ending on a soft note after a wild week filled with central bank rate decisions around the world mostly signaled investors should be prepared to have a much smaller punchbowl of stimulus going forward and as early earnings suggest supply chain constraints and labor shortage problems are not getting any better,” Ed Moya, analyst at online trading platform ONDA, said.

“What’s also weighing on risk appetite is the growing stress in the Chinese property sector. The Evergrande crisis won’t have a quick fix and that uncertainty will continue to weigh on Asia."

The S&P 500, which groups the top 500 stocks on the New York Stocks Exchange, settled up almost 7 points, or 0.1%, at 4,455. For the week, it rose 0.6%. The Dow, comprising mostly industrial stocks, rose 33 points, or 0.1%, to close at 34,798. For the week, it gained 0.5%.

Nasdaq, led by Big Tech names such as Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google, finished down 5 points, or 0.03%, at 15,048. It climbed 0.02% for the week.

Stocks rallied the past two sessions after the Federal Reserve said at the conclusion of its September policy meeting on Wednesday that it will extend stimulus support for the US economy beyond next year, if necessary. It also said it will exercise care in raising interest rates, which have been at near zero range since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.