Stocks end mostly lower, Nasdaq books biggest 3-week drop since December

Stocks closed mostly lower Friday, capping off a bruising week of losses as Treasury yields jumped and China's mounting property woes gripped investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 27 points, or 0.1%, ending near 34,501, according to preliminary FactSet data. The S&P 500 index was nearly flat at 4,370 and the Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.2%, despite briefly turning positive late in the session. It still was a tough week for equities, with the Dow booking a 2.2% loss, the S&P 500 index a 2.1% decline and the Nasdaq a 2.6%. The Nasdaq also posted its biggest 3-week decline since December 2022, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Yields on the 10-year Treasury rose for a 5th week in the row, with the benchmark rate briefly touching its highest level since November 2007, before settling back at 4.251% on Friday. China Evergrande's (3333.HK)Chapter 15 bankruptcy filing in New York late Thursday kept focus on the wobbling property market in the world's second-largest economy. Earlier in the week, Country Garden Group missed a dollar-denominated debt payment. Next week investors will be focused on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech on Friday at the Jackson Hole economic summit for hints to whether the central bank is likely done hiking rates in this cycle. The Fed's policy rate sits at its highest level in 22 years.

-Joy Wiltermuth

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08-18-23 1604ET

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