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* Apple rises after record holiday-quarter sales
* Caterpillar falls after flagging margin pressure
* Indexes down: Dow 0.40%, S&P 0.09%, Nasdaq 0.08%
Jan 28 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 index was closing in on a
correction on Friday for the fifth time this week on worries
about a series of interest rate hikes to tame inflation and
losses in shares of Caterpillar and Chevron.
The benchmark index would have to close 10% or more
below its record closing high reached on Jan. 3 to confirm it
entered correction territory. It was last down 9.9% in volatile
trading.
All the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading in the red.
Small-caps also suffered, with the Russell 2000 index
slipping 0.7%.
Caterpillar Inc fell 4.8% after the world's largest
heavy-duty equipment maker warned of margin pressure from higher
production and labor costs.
Chevron Corp fell 3.4% on downbeat fourth-quarter
profit, weighing on the S&P 500 energy sector, which
slid 0.4%.
However, Apple Inc's 4.1% jump kept declines on the
Nasdaq at bay, after the iPhone maker posted record
sales for its flagship phones in the holiday quarter.
Fourth-quarter earnings season has been mixed so far, with
market participants closely watching how corporate America will
respond to persistently high inflation and supply-chain snags.
Of the 168 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported
earnings, 77.4% beat profit expectations, according to Refinitiv
data.
"Supply chain issues are going to be with us for at least
the first half of this year...," said Sam Stovall, chief
Investment strategist at CFRA Research.
"These issues combined with higher interest rates and
geopolitical tensions are going to continue to weigh on stocks
for a while."
Meanwhile, data showed core personal consumption expenditure
price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge for
inflation, rose 0.5% in December, in line with expectations.
Although annual inflation increased at a pace last seen in the
early 1980s.
At 10:16 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average
was down 136.24 points, or 0.40%, at 34,024.54, the S&P 500
was down 3.82 points, or 0.09%, at 4,322.69, and the
Nasdaq Composite was down 11.20 points, or 0.08%, at
13,341.59.
All three indexes are set for their fourth straight weekly
fall, with the S&P 500 tracking its longest losing streak since
Sept 2020.
Traders and big banks raised their bets to nearly five
interest rate rises by December after the Federal Reserve hinted
at a hike in March and warned of persistent inflation.
"While it doesn't feel fun, we are exiting a period of 0%
interest rates and trillions of dollars in Fed asset purchases,"
said Darrell Spence, economist at Capital Group.
VF Corp slid 5.8% after the Vans owner cut its
full-year revenue outlook, while storage hardware maker Western
Digital fell 6% on bleak forecast.
Visa jumped 6.7% after beating quarterly estimates as
more international travel and e-commerce drove an increase
spending volumes.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.60-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and for a 2.73-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded two new 52-week highs and 20 new
lows, while the Nasdaq recorded six new highs and 611 new lows.
(Reporting by Devik Jain and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru;
Editing by Arun Koyyur)