- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 23
- Melrose Group Publicly Files Complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
US stocks fall again, sending Nasdaq nearer to dreaded 'bear' market
Wall Street stocks tumbled again Friday following a plunge in Netflix shares that sent the Nasdaq further into correction territory, spurring questions of just how far the market will fall.
After a bruising session on European bourses, all three major US indices fell, led by the Nasdaq which lost 2.7 percent on Friday alone.
The tech-focused index is down about 15 percent since its November record, midway between the 10 percent loss considered a correction and nearing the 20 percent drop that qualifies as a "bear market."
"We're still pretty far from a bear market, but if we start to see signs that higher interest rates are slowing the economy, you could easily pass from a correction to a bear market," said Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services.
Friday's session was dominated by the spectacular fall in Netflix, which ended with a loss of more than 20 percent after it projected it would add only 2.5 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022, a sharp slowdown compared with earlier gains in the pandemic.
Netflix results "particularly spooked" technology-focused stocks on Friday, said Ross Mayfield, analyst at Baird.
"There's a sense now that the consumer is kind of renormalizing their behavior and shifting spending to services," he said.
That feeling "set off a chain reaction of what the next year to five years of consumer spending might look like versus what we would have thought beforehand."
- Fear factor -
Stocks have been under pressure so far this year after the Federal Reserve shifted to a more restrictive monetary policy path that will include interest rate increases, with the first expected in March.
The Fed is scheduled to meet next week amid intensifying concerns about accelerating inflation that has spurred debate on how many times the central bank will raise the benchmark lending rate in 2022.
"The mood in the markets has been progressively getting worse recently as traders are preparing themselves for the prospect of the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates three or four times this year," said David Madden at Equiti Capital.
CFRA Research still expects solid US growth in 2022, but recently trimmed its forecast slightly to 4.2 percent based on an outlook that includes four rate hikes, said chief investment strategist Sam Stovall.
The S&P 500, the most broad-based of the major indices, has fallen 8.3 percent from its last record.
Based on how stocks have historically responded to monetary policy shifts, Stovall estimates the S&P 500 could fall about 15 percent.
But a drop of twice that amount is also possible, depending on whether equities end up more or less generously valued compared with history, he said.
"The question is how scared investors are likely to be?" Stovall said. "But I don't know the answer."
- Key figures around 2240 GMT -
New York - Dow: DOWN 1.3 percent at 34,265.37 (close)
New York - S&P 500: DOWN 1.9 percent at 4,397.94 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 2.7 percent at 13,768.92 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 1.2 percent at 7,494.13 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 1.9 percent at 15,603.88 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 1.8 percent at 7,068.59 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 1.6 percent at 4,229.56 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 27,522.26 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 24,965.55 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.9 percent at 3,522.57 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1344 from $1.1312 late Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3553 from $1.3600
Euro/pound: UP at 83.67 pence from 83.17 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 113.70 yen from 114.11 yen
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 0.6 percent at $87.89 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $85.14 per barrel
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Y.Nakamura--AMWN