Markets Finish Flat to Post Losses for the Week

By
Terry Lane
Terry Lane
Full Bio
Terry has 25 years experience in journalism and communications, reporting on a range of topics that include personal finance, telecommunications, Congress, government regulations, and criminal justice. He has also worked on technology, energy, and environmental policy issues as a congressional press secretary and owned and published a local community newspaper in North Carolina.
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Published April 21, 2023
Table showing the performance of major U.S. financial indexes on April 21, 2023

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Key Takeaways

  • Major U.S. equities indexes eked out minor gains on April 21, 2023.
  • However, the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all posted losses for the full week.
  • The consumer staples and consumer discretionary sectors were among Friday's top performers.

After wavering between gains and losses most of the day following mixed earnings results, the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq finished flat to higher on Friday, April 21, 2023. All three indexes posted losses for the week, with the Dow losing 0.2% to break a four-week streak of gains, while the S&P 500 declined 0.1%, and the Nasdaq lost 0.4%.

Consumer discretionary and consumer staples were among the best-performing sectors, with Procter & Gamble (PG) shares up more than 3% after the company reported results that beat estimates. Shares of Home Depot (HD), Lowe's (LOW), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), and Church & Dwight (CHD) also rose.

Mining stocks suffered after Chile announced plans to nationalize its lithium deposits, a key element in electric vehicle batteries, sending shares of SQM (SQM) down more than 18% and Albemarle (ALB) 10% lower.

The financial sector was one of the worst performing, with shares of regional banks U.S. Bancorp (USB), Truist (TFC), and Regions Financial (RF) posting losses. After lower-than-expected subscriber numbers sent shares tumbling earlier in the week, AT&T (T) shares rose more than 3% after HSBC upgraded the telecom carrier's rating to buy. Verizon (VZ) and T-Mobile (TMUS) traded higher, lifting the communications sector into positive territory. Lyft (LYFT) shares rose 6% after the rideshare company said that it would lay off 1,200 corporate employees.

Major cryptocurrencies traded lower, with the price of Bitcoin (BTC/USD) falling more than 3% below $28,000, while Ethereum's (ETH/USD) value dropped below $1,900. The U.S. dollar was flat against the euro, yen, and pound. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed. Oil futures moved upward.

Table showing the S&P 500 stocks with the biggest gains and losses on April 21, 2023

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