US markets settle sharply lower on Friday

18 Mar 2023 Evaluate

After previous session’s rally, the US markets ended sharply lower on Friday. With the Nasdaq snapping a four-day winning streak, the all major averages showed notable moves to the downside on the day. Traders booked their profits after previous session’s rally amid lingering concerns about turmoil in the financial sector. Shares of First Republic Bank (FRC) showed a significant pullback on the day, plummeting by 32.8 percent after surging by 10.0 percent on Thursday. The jump in the previous session came as a group of financial institutions agreed to deposit $30 billion in First Republic in an effort to express confidence in the banking system. Traders also continued to look ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement next Wednesday.

On the economic data front, the Fed released a report showing U.S. industrial production was unexpectedly unchanged in the month of February. The Fed said industrial production was unchanged in February following a revised 0.3 percent increase in January. Street had expected industrial production to rise by 0.2 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month. A separate report from the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in the U.S. fell for the first time in four months in March. The report said the consumer sentiment index slid to 63.4 in March from 67.0 in February. Street had expected the index to be unchanged. Meanwhile, the report showed decreases in both near-term and long-term inflation expectations, with year-ahead inflation expectations falling to the lowest level since April 2021.

Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 384.57 points or 1.19 percent to 31,861.98, Nasdaq lost 86.76 points or 0.74 percent to 11,630.51 and S&P 500 was down by 43.64 points or 1.10 percent to 3,916.64.

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