S&P Plunges on Inflation Fears

The S&P 500 moved lower on Friday as recent consumer sentiment data fueled concerns around inflation.The Dow Jones Industrials lost 71.86 points to 44,675.77. The much-broader index dumped 12.15 points to 6,071.42The tech-heavy NASDAQ gave back 100.74 points to 19,691.26. Amazon lost 2%, weighing on sentiment. Guidance from the e-commerce giant disappointed investors, as Amazon called for revenue growth of 5% to 9% in the first quarter — its weakest growth on record. The outlook overshadowed top- and bottom-line beats in the fourth quarter.Meanwhile, January’s jobs report released Friday showed 143,000 jobs were added for the month, but traders were concentrating on other parts of the report. The unemployment rate actually fell to 4% from 4.1%, and December’s and November’s jobs figures were revised up significantly. Average hourly earnings for January were also higher than expected, raising inflation fears.Consumer sentiment fell in February to 67.8, according to a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected 71.3.Prices for the 10-year Treasury eased a bit, raising yields to 4.51% from Thursday’s 4.44%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.Oil prices gained 65 cents to $71.26 U.S. a barrel. Prices for gold revived $29.30 an ounce to $2,906 U.S.