U.S. stocks closed lower Friday, marking the last day of a gloomy quarter of rising interest rates and falling share prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 495.49 points, or 1.70%, to close at 28,730.12. The S&P 500 dropped 54 points, or 1.48%, to 3,586.47 and the Nasdaq Composite closed down 161.89 points, or 1.51%, to 10,575.62.
The U.S. Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending remained high in August despite rising inflation, which means higher prices. The department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis reported personal-consumption expenditures were up 0.4% last month, double the rate of July.
Despite that rosy report, stocks continued their months-long slide on competing concerns over inflation and recession. The Federal Reserve last week hiked interest rates by 0.75%, the third consecutive increase at that rate to stifle inflation.
One of the stocks declining Friday included Apple (AAPL), which fell to $138, down $4.48, or 3.14%. Qualcomm’s (QCOM) price of shares fell $1.86, or 1.62%, to close at $112.98.
“The market stinks,” Jamie Cox, managing partner of Harris Financial Group, told CNBC. “But that’s basically what the Fed wants: tighten financial conditions, and they believe that that will help bring down inflation to the levels that they find acceptable. And they’re using the transmission mechanism of the market to make that happen.”
