Stocks slide; data shows the Fed has more to do

Stocks slide; data shows the Fed has more to do

Stocks closed broadly lower on Wall Street and Treasury yields rose Monday after surprisingly strong economic reports highlighted the Federal Reserve’s difficult fight against inflation.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 3.59% from 3.49% late Friday.

The selling came as traders reacted to some better-than-expected economic snapshots. The services sector, which makes up the biggest part of the U.S. economy, showed surprising growth in November, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Reports on business orders at U.S. factories and orders for durable goods in October also rose more than expected.

All told, roughly 95% of the stocks in the benchmark S&P 500 index were in the red. Chipmaker Nvidia fell 1.6%, Bank of America slid 4.5% and Amazon dropped 3.3%.

Tesla fell 6.4% following reports that it may have to cut production in China because of weak demand.

Shares tumble after CEO departs Vans parent

VF Corp., owner of Vans sneakers in Costa Mesa, fell the most in more than two years after cutting its forecast and announcing the retirement of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Rendle.

The retailer now sees sales for the full year rising no more than 4%, excluding the impact of currency, down from its previous guidance of as much as 6%. It also expects profit to be lower than previously forecast. The company said lower demand in North America is resulting in more promotions as well as order cancellations in the wholesale channel.

The news caused shares of VF to fall 11% to $29.51, their biggest drop since March 2020.

Retailers have been offering deep discounts in recent months to clear excess inventory that resulted from a combination of overordering and sinking consumer demand.

Rendle, 63, served as CEO for almost six years as part of a nearly 25-year career with VF. Benno Dorer, 58, lead independent director on VF’s board, has been named interim CEO.

Vodafone CEO is ousted as share price collapses

Vodafone Group Chief Executive Officer Nick Read will step down at the end of this year after he failed to halt a yearslong slide in the telecommunication giant’s share price, and mergers with major rivals failed to materialize.

Chief Financial Officer Margherita Della Valle will do the job on an interim basis while the board, led by Chairman Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, seeks a replacement. Read, who’d been in the post for four years and at Vodafone for more than two decades, will stay on an as adviser until the end of March, the company said.

Vodafone’s stock remains close to 25-year lows.

Slack’s CEO leaving in Salesforce exodus

Stewart Butterfield, chief executive officer of Salesforce Inc.’s Slack, is leaving after less than two years, another blow to the software giant that has been roiled by an executive exodus in recent weeks.

Two other veteran Slack executives also will depart, the company said Monday, shaking up the division that Salesforce purchased in July 2021 for more than $27 billion in its largest acquisition.

Butterfield’s resignation follows the news last week that Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor would step down from the post at the end of next month. Butterfield, who was seen as a possible successor to Taylor, also will exit in January, the company said. Both men were credited as lead negotiators in the deal announced in December 2020 that brought the business communications platform into Salesforce.

Compiled from Associated Press and Bloomberg reports.