US stocks snapped a four-week winning streak on Friday as all three indexes closed lower in the session and for the week as the summer rally lost momentum.
As the closing bell rang on Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 2%, while the benchmark S&P 500 was down 1.3% and the Dow was down 0.9%.
For the week, the Nasdaq fell more than 2%, the S&P 500 fell 1.2%, while the Dow’s weekly losses were a more modest 0.2%.
The biggest stock story of the week came to an eventful conclusion on Friday, as shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) crashed, falling 40% after GameStop (GME), Chairman Ryan Cohen sold his entire 11.8% position in the company on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Cryptocurrencies were also in focus on Friday, with bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell about 8% to trade near $21,500, its lowest level since late July. The price of ethereum (ETH-USD) also fell more than 8% to trade below $1,700.
Like stocks, crypto markets have been enjoying a summer rally after bottoming out in mid-June.
WTI crude futures settled little changed on Friday, losing 0.2% to $90.29 a barrel. On Tuesday, crude oil futures settled at their lowest level ($86.53 a barrel) since January 25.
In individual stock news, a collapse in Bed Bath & Beyond stock was the big story on Friday, falling about 40% after GameStop chairman and activist investor Ryan Cohen. released on Thursday abandoned his 11.8% position in the company.
Cohen’s RC Ventures revealed plans to sell its stake to the troubled retailer in an SEC filing released Wednesday, and Cohen’s updated filing Thursday showed he sold off his Bed Bath & Beyond holdings during the trading day on Tuesday and Wednesday.
A view of a Bed Bath & Beyond Inc franchise in Boca Raton, Florida January 6, 2010. REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Bloomberg also reported this Thursday afternoon Bed Bath & Beyond has hired Kirkland & Ellisa law firm known for its work in bankruptcy and restructuring situations, to help manage its growing debt load.
This week’s demonstration at Bed Bath & Beyond reignited the meme stock trading that has periodically roiled markets since January 2021, when volatile trading in GameStop and AMC made national headlines.
Even with Friday’s collapse, shares of Bed Bath & Beyond are down 15% this week and are still up more than 120% in the past month.
Retailers also focused on the earnings side on Friday with shares of Foot Locker (FL) rose more than 20% in early trading after the announcement quarterly results which were better than expected and appointed a new CEO.
Foot Locker’s same-store sales fell 10.3% in the most recent quarter, less than the more than 14% drop analysts expected, while earnings per share of $1.10 beat earnings estimates of $0.80. The company expected same-store sales to fall 8% to 9% in 2022; previously, Foot Locker expected same-store sales to fall closer to 10%.
Mary Dillon, formerly CEO of Ulta Beauty, was announced to Foot Locker’s next top executive, starting September 1.
Also on the retail side, shares of Wayfair (W) were down more than 16% after the company announced plans to around 900 employees, including 5% of its total workforce and 10% of its corporate team.
At the beginning of the week, Walmart (WMT) i Goal (TGT) delivered results that allowed investors to breathe a sigh of relief about the state of the consumer, with both major retailers delivering better-than-expected quarterly results.
As Walmart CFO John David Rainey told Yahoo Finance this week, “I would say what we’re seeing is [consumers] they’re still relatively healthy.”
The shares of Occidental Petroleum (OXY) also moved on Friday, rising as much as 9% following reports that Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A, BRK-B) received regulatory approval to acquire up to 50% of the company.
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