The S&P 500 fell on Friday, but still notched a winning week, after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh conveyed some worry over current inflation trends.
The broad market index lost 0.25% and closed at 7,711.76, while the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.52% to 26,402.42, weighed down by losses in semiconductor stocks such as Nvidia and Intel. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 9.45 points, or 0.02%, and ended at 53,559.99.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.5% on the week, while the Nasdaq gained 0.9%. The Dow climbed 0.5% in the period for its first winning week in three.
In his remarks at the central bank's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Warsh said, "While this summer's PCE and CPI readings were better than expected, they do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved."
He also said, "We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do. That's our job ... our mandate ... and our charge to keep."
Bets among fed funds futures traders that the Fed will raise interest rates in September increased to 57.5% on Friday, per CME Group's FedWatch tool. That's up from 35.4% just a day ago.
Treasury yields on the short end of the curve were higher immediately after Friday's speech, while those on the long end — which are linked to borrowing costs throughout the economy and have been a source of concern for markets recently — were roughly flat. By the end of the trading day, however, those on the short end had come off their lows.
"I found this speech in particular to be a very strong kind of message, both a message to the market but also just a kind of message in general that the way the Fed has done business for maybe the last 40 years in some ways has not been as rigorous as it could be," said Bill Birmingham, managing director at REX Financial.
Birmingham added that Warsh's comments about the composition of CPI in particular signal "that he is very much looking for consensus internally to raise rates," he added.
Investors also digested more earnings results. Gap shares jumped about 13% despite a mixed quarterly report as the retail announced a new chief executive for the struggling Old Navy brand. Marvell Technology slid more than 10% after issuing current-quarter guidance for non-GAAP gross margin that disappointed the Street.



