*US equities close mixed in worst week of 2023 so far*

*13 February 2023*
Nasdaq 100 Index 12304.92, (-0.62%)↓
S&P 500 Index 4090.48, (0.22%)↑
Dow Jones Indus Avg Index 33869.27, (0.5%)↑

US stocks closed mixed but had its worst week in 2023 so far, as investors bet on a higher terminal rate ahead of key US inflation data due Tuesday. The *10-year Treasury yield* rallied to around 3.74%. 8 of 11 sectors closed in the green, with *Energy* leading shares higher while *Consumer Discretionary* led shares lower. *Oil prices* jumped to a 2-week high after Russia said it plans to cut oil output by 500k barrels a day next month to retaliate against western sanctions. The *VIX (-0.87%)* decreased to 20.53.

All eyes will be on *US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Core CPI data due Tuesday at 21:30 Singapore TIme*. The inflation data will test the "disinflation" narrative. *Futures market traders* are betting the Fed will lift rates to *5.00-5.25% by May* via 2 consecutive 25bps increments, up from less than 5% a month ago. *Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker* was the latest central banker to call for rates to climb above 5% and stay there to ensure inflation eases. Elsewhere, the *US shot down a flying object over Michigan*, making it the 4th time in 8 days a balloon or high-flying craft had been downed over the US or Canada.

Sentiment on Tech stocks were dampened on renewed concerns of a more hawkish Fed, as *Nvidia (-4.80%) dropped* on poor chip sentiment. *Yelp (+3.21%)* rose after forecasting better than expected Q4 revenue. *Paypal (+3.03%)* gained on strong quarterly results and CEO Dan Schulman announced plans to retire at the end of the year. *Expedia (-8.55%)* tumbled after missing both top and bottom line estimates. *Lyft (-36.44%)* plummeted after the ride-hailing company issued poor revenue guidance and posted an unexpected quarterly loss, as price cuts squeezed profits.