Shares of retailers and other consumer companies fell amid concerns about rising mortgage rates.
The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan was 3.45% for the week ended Thursday, mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac, up sharply from 3.22% a week ago, and at its highest level since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.
Rising rates could cause the housing market to cool off, and Median home sale prices hit an all-time high in the first full week of 2022, surging 16% year over year, according to Redfin.
"So far, we do not see a meaningful deterioration in spending for households that received the child-tax credit in December relative to households that did not but this could change in coming weeks," said analysts at brokerage Bank of America Global Research, in a note to clients.
Monster Beverage agreed to buy craft-beer and hard-seltzer company CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective for $330 million.
Qantas Airways slashed its capacity estimates for its fiscal third quarter on the surge in Covid-19 cases while maintaining staff levels to cover for sick employees.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-13-22 1706ET
