Shares of retailers and other consumer companies fell sharply amid fears that rising interest rates would stymie the consumer-led U.S. economic recovery.
French luxury giant LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton said revenue growth accelerated in the fourth quarter, bringing annual sales to $72.2 billion, a 14% increase from comparable sales in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.
Distiller Diageo warned that soaring pandemic demand is depleting its reserves of Crown Royal whisky, Lagavulin Scotch and Don Julio tequila. Diageo said it would have to raise prices and shift marketing spending to address shortages and increased materials costs.
"Meme stocks" such as videogame store chain GameStop and cinema chain AMC Entertainment were selling off again Thursday.
The Federal Reserve's support for markets during the period of loose monetary policy provided a sort of safety net for day traders betting on these risky stocks; on Wednesday, Chairman Jerome Powell made it clear that the safety net was now gone.
Southwest Airlines said it swung to its first quarterly profit during the pandemic without the help of government aid in the fourth quarter, though said the impact of the Omicron variant generated losses in the current quarter. Southwest expects to shake off the effects of Omicron and turn a profit for 2022 as a whole.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-27-22 1713ET
