Stock Market Today: Disney Drops Along With Dow, Nasdaq Amid Recession Fears
Shares of Disney dropped Monday along with the broader markets, which were weighed down by continued concerns of a recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 163.85 points, or 0.5%, to close at 32,576.61. The S&P 500 declined 34.89 points, or 0.91%, to close at 3,817.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 159.38 points, or 1.49%, to close at 10,546.03.
Disney (DIS) stock dropped 4.79%, or $4.32 a share, to $85.76 on a weaker-than-expected opening weekend for "Avatar: The Way of Water." The James Cameron sequel to "Avatar," the highest-grossing movie of all time with more than $2.7 billion in sales, rang up about $134 million. That was the fifth-highest opening weekend movie gross in 2022 but still short of analysts' expectations of more than $170 million.
Stocks generally have been falling the last two weeks over concerns that the Federal Reserve's efforts to stifle inflation will push the economy into recession. The Fed raised its rate by 0.5% on Wednesday after raising rates 0.75% in the three previous months.
Recent economic data, including the latest consumer price index, showed the rate of inflation to be slowing.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signaled more rate hikes are likely in 2023.
Some stocks that fell Monday included Alphabet (GOOG), which closed at $89.15, down $1.71, or 1.88%. Apple's (AAPL) price of shares fell $2.14, or 1.59%, to close at $132.37.
"As we near the end of December, investors are still waiting on that Santa Claus Rally, with stocks coming off back-to-back down weeks for the first time since September," Chris Larkin, managing director of trading at E*Trade, told CNBC. "Data showing inflation cooling may have given the market a short-lived boost, but the Fed standing firm with Powell driving home the point that rates could remain elevated for quite a while likely grounded some investors."
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