Stocks edge lower as earnings roll in, natural gas soars

Friday, April 15, 2022, Vol. 46, No. 15

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed slightly lower after a wobbly day of trading Monday as worries about rising interest rates and high inflation keep a lid on Wall Street despite some better-than-expected profit reports from banks.

The S&P 500 ended just barely in the red while the Dow and the Nasdaq each fell 0.1%.

Stocks have struggled this year as the highest inflation in generations forces the Federal Reserve into a U-turn on the low-interest-rate policies that helped markets soar and the economy to rev in recent years.

The price of U.S. natural gas jumped more than 7% and is close to its highest since 2008.