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Stocks Suffer Sharpest Weekly Decline during 2024

All three major indexes fell more than 1%, and registered losses on the week - Reuters
All three major indexes fell more than 1%, and registered losses on the week - Reuters
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Stocks Suffer Sharpest Weekly Decline during 2024

All three major indexes fell more than 1%, and registered losses on the week - Reuters
All three major indexes fell more than 1%, and registered losses on the week - Reuters

Stocks slumped to a second consecutive weekly loss on Friday, as intensifying tension in the Middle East prompted caution among investors.

All three major indexes fell more than 1%, and registered losses on the week.

The S&P 500 index (.SPX), opens new tab notched its biggest weekly percentage loss since January, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average's (.DJI), opens new tab weekly loss was its steepest since March 2023.

"When we look at what's happened in the macro space, inflation has taken a turn for the worse and that has put more pressure on companies to deliver this earnings season," said Mike Dickson, head of research at Horizon Investments in Charlotte, North Carolina, Reuters reported.

"Everyone's a bit jittery with intense focus on how good earnings need to be."

Results from a trio of big banks marked the unofficial launch of first-quarter earnings season.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), opens new tab, the biggest US bank by assets, posted a 6% profit increase but its net interest income forecast fell short of expectations. Its shares slid 6.5%.

Wells Fargo & Co's (WFC.N), opens new tab stock inched lower after profits fell 7% as net interest income dropped on weak borrowing demand.

Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab posted a loss after spending on employee severance and deposit insurance. Its stock dipped 1.7%.

Economic data this week, particularly Wednesday's hotter-than-expected Consumer Price Index report, has suggested that inflation could be stickier than previously thought, prompting investors to reset expectations about the timing and extent of the US Federal Reserve's rate cuts this year.

US Steel (X.N), opens new tab slid 2.1% after shareholders voted to approve a proposed merger with Nippon Steel Corporation (5401.T), opens new tab.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 4.19-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 3.16-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 12 new 52-week highs and nine new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 35 new highs and 211 new lows.

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Business

Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
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Fire, Smoke Upend Western Canada’s Summer Tourism Season

A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)
A helicopter works a forest fire outside of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, on Friday July 26, 2024. (Reuters)

Severe wildfire seasons are increasingly hurting western Canada's lucrative tourism industry, with some visitors beginning to avoid the busy late-summer months due to concerns about uncontrolled blazes, smoke-filled skies and road closures.

After a scorching start to July, nearly 600 wildfires are now ablaze across British Columbia and Alberta, including a huge fire that this week devastated the picturesque tourist town of Jasper in the Canadian Rockies.

Dozens of communities, including popular holiday spots in British Columbia's Kootenay region, are under evacuation orders and several highways are closed.

This year's surge in wildfire activity comes after Canada endured its worst-ever year for wildfires in 2023, when more than 15 million hectares (37 million acres) burned, including parts of the city of West Kelowna in the heart of British Columbia's wine region.

Ellen Walker-Matthews, head of the Thompson Okanagan Tourism Association, said the industry was seeing a lot more last-minute travel decisions instead of booking in advance.

"It's a huge blow. July and August are traditionally the busiest months in the region," said Walker-Matthews, adding that while her region has been relatively unscathed by wildfires this summer, some visitors are choosing to avoid interior British Columbia altogether.

The members of the British Columbia Lodging and Campgrounds Association are reporting a 5-15% drop in bookings from a year ago, with the biggest declines coming from the hotter Okanagan and Cariboo regions, said Joss Penny, who heads the association.

"The concern is that this is something we have to live with and we have it every year now," said Penny.

Although wildfires in Canada's forests are natural and common, scientists say drier, hotter conditions fueled by climate change are leading to more volatile and frequent blazes.

'SMOKEY SKIES'

Some events, like the Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival, usually held in August, have now been rescheduled to earlier in the summer to avoid what is now seen as peak smoke season. The festival, which was cancelled last year due to nearby wildfires, was this year moved to July to benefit from "less smokey skies."

Wildfires and extreme climatic events are prompting tourists to "change their plans not just temporarily, but permanently," said Elizabeth Halpenny, a tourism researcher and professor at the University of Alberta, noting that seasonal workers in the sector are often the hardest hit as they have few protections during a bad season or amid a cataclysmic fire.

Tourism contributed C$7.2 billion to the British Columbia economy in 2022, and C$9.9 billion to Alberta in 2023, according to the latest government data.

Jasper National Park is one of Canada's premier tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors a year flocking to see its pristine mountain landscapes and abundant wildlife, including grizzly bears, moose and elk.

Kelly Torrens, vice-president of product at international tour company Kensington Tours, described western Canada as a bucket-list destination. But the company now has 49 trips that were supposed to pass through Jasper this season in limbo. Six others were forced to evacuate the park when the fire hit.

Parks Canada has cancelled all camping reservations within Jasper National Park until Aug. 6 and with potentially 50% of the town's structures destroyed by fire, the cleanup and rebuild could take years.

Halpenny is among those hedging their bets.

"I've booked a campsite stay in the mountain parks but at the same time, I booked a campsite out on the prairie somewhere and that's my backup plan because I don't want to miss out on my vacation with my family."