US indices
The US stock market closed on Friday lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffering its biggest weekly loss since October 2020. The market was pressured by fears that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) might start to raise interest rates earlier than expected.
The Fed kept the federal funds interest rate in the 0% to 0.25% p.a. range at the end of its June meeting. The Fed also said it would continue monthly asset purchases totalling $120bn until substantial progress was made towards maximum employment and price stability targets. These decisions coincided with the forecasts of economists and market participants.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average index was down 533.37 points (1.58%) at 33290.08 by the close of trading on Friday, June 18.
The Standard Poor's 500 fell 55.41 points (1.31%) to 4166.45 points.
The Nasdaq Composite lost 130.97 points (0.92%) to 14030.38 points.
For the week, the Dow fell 3.5%, showing a second consecutive week of decline, with the drop being the highest since the week ended October 30, 2020. The S&P 500 was down 1.9% and the Nasdaq was down 0.2%.
Shares of major banks fell substantially in Friday's trading. JPMorgan Chase Co (NYSE:JPM). and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC). were down 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS). shares were down 3.5%, Wells Fargo Co (NYSE:WFC). by 2.4%, Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C). down 1.8%.
Marathon Oil shares were down 2.5%, although analysts at Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) raised their outlook for the stock to $15 from $12.
The bank experts also raised the outlook for Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) to $40 from $32, rating to "above market" from "at market level". The company's shares were down 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, shares of Adobe Inc. were up 2.6%. The world's largest imaging software developer recorded a slight increase in net income in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, while increasing revenue by 23%.
In addition, shares of several US companies rose amid reports that the European Union advocated lifting travel restrictions for Americans. Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL). shares rose 0.9%, United Airlines Holdings Inc. up 1.3% and Alaska Air Group Inc. up 1.1 percent.
