• The S&P 500 fell 1.3% on Friday, Nov. 15, after the Fed chair struck a cautious tone on additional rate cuts and a report showed strong retail sales in October.

• Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials issued soft current-quarter sales guidance, citing weakness in China, and its shares tumbled.

• Palantir Technologies shares surged after the analytics software provider said it will transfer its stock listing to the Nasdaq.
  

Major U.S. equities indexes dropped to close out the trading week after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell suggested that the central bank has leeway to ease off on its rate-cutting campaign if needed.

Meanwhile, retail sales data from October came in stronger than expected, with consumer spending remaining robust despite uncertainty around the election and the impact of several major storms. While the strong retail sales figures are a signal of economic resilience, this could provide the Fed with more flexibility as it considers the urgency of additional interest-rate reductions.

The S&P 500 fell 1.3%, while the Dow slipped 0.7%. Underperformance in the tech sector pressured the Nasdaq, which dropped 2.2%.

Applied Materials (AMAT) exceeded top- and bottom-line estimates for the recently completed quarter, but the semiconductor equipment provider offered lower-than-expected sales guidance for the current quarter. Applied Materials shares tumbled 9.2% on Friday, losing the most of any S&P 500 stock.

Shares of marketing and corporate communications firm Omnicom Group (OMC) dropped 7.8%. In its most recent earnings report, released a month ago, Omnicom topped sales and profit expectations, benefitting from its acquisition of digital commerce platform Flywheel Digital, which closed at the beginning of this year. However, analysts indicate that Omnicom faces challenges related to managing costs as well economic uncertainties and possible technological disruptions.

Moderna (MRNA) shares lost 7.3% following reports that President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has openly expressed his skepticism about vaccines, as the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has indicated that he will push for significant changes to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Shares of fellow vaccine maker Pfizer (PFE) slid 4.7%.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares logged the top performance of any S&P 500 constituent on Friday, surging 11.1%. The analytics software firm announced that it would move its stock listing to the Nasdaq from the New York Stock Exchange. Palantir’s Class A shares are set to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, maintaining the “PLTR” ticker, the company said.

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