New lows as Nasdaq leads the equity market selling — weekly gain wiped out

It has gotten ugly in equity markets on Friday the 13th.

The Nasdaq Comp is leading the way lower, down 1.5% while the S&P 500 is down by 0.85%. The drop today wipes out the weekly gain in the Nasdaq after a strong start.

There’s a disjunctive risk-off tone in markets today in part due to worries about what might happen in the Middle East on the weekend. There are indications that Israel is planning an offensive and there are worries it could pull other countries into the conflict.

In addition, today’s UMich consumer sentiment survey took a surprising fall and the inflation expectations survey heated up.

One area that isn’t hurting stocks today is bonds. Yields are lower across the curve with 10s down 7.8 bps. That dynamic along with large bids in oil and gold argue that geopolitics is largely behind the moves.

On the Fed front, Harker said the central bank can “hold rates where they are” in a validation of market pricing that suggests we’re at the top of the cycle.

Next week’s US economic calendar features retail sales.