Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.15%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Basic Materials, Industrials and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.33%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.27%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which rose 1.61% or 2.69 points to trade at 169.84 at the close. Meanwhile, The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) added 1.18% or 1.34 points to end at 114.52 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 0.86% or 0.77 points to 89.99 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), which fell 1.47% or 1.50 points to trade at 100.58 at the close. Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) declined 1.44% or 1.87 points to end at 128.32 and EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) was down 1.06% or 0.73 points to 68.33.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which rose 15.25% to 26.25, Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) which was up 6.01% to settle at 4.23 and NextEra Energy Inc (NYSE:NEE) which gained 3.11% to close at 121.70.
The worst performers were Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE:TSN) which was down 8.91% to 67.75 in late trade, PPG Industries Inc (NYSE:PPG) which lost 8.29% to settle at 93.72 and Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON) which was down 7.51% to 106.93 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Lipocine In (NASDAQ:LPCN) which rose 29.74% to 5.41, Westell Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:WSTL) which was up 16.81% to settle at 0.590 and Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:CLSD) which gained 15.98% to close at 23.3700.
The worst performers were Great Basin Scientific Inc (NASDAQ:GBSN) which was down 51.76% to 0.1399 in late trade, Cosi Inc (NASDAQ:COSI) which lost 23.06% to settle at 0.0287 and Senomyx Inc (NASDAQ:SNMX) which was down 21.73% to 2.990 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2129 to 1004 and 85 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1624 fell and 876 advanced, while 91 ended unchanged.
Shares in Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 0.86% or 0.77 to 89.99. Shares in Great Basin Scientific Inc (NASDAQ:GBSN) fell to all-time lows; falling 51.76% or 0.1501 to 0.1399. Shares in Cosi Inc (NASDAQ:COSI) fell to all-time lows; losing 23.06% or 0.0086 to 0.0287. Shares in Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:CLSD) rose to all-time highs; up 15.98% or 3.2200 to 23.3700.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 4.60% to 13.43.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.37% or 4.60 to $1257.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 1.67% or 0.84 to hit $49.60 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract fell 1.56% or 0.82 to trade at $51.69 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.46% to 1.1200, while USD/JPY fell 0.97% to 102.93.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.14% at 96.52.
Read additional news from Reuters at Investing.com.
The dollar trimmed gains against the other major currencies on Friday, after the release of disappointing U.S. employment data dampened expectations for a rate hike before the year end.
EUR/USD was still down 0.14% at 1.1130, just off the two-month low of 1.1104 hit earlier
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 156,000 jobs in September, compared to expectations for 175,000. The economy created 167,000 jobs in August, whose figure was revised from a previously estimated 151,000.
The report also showed that the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.0% last month from 4.9% in August. Analysts had expected an unchanged reading for September.
Average hourly earnings rose 0.2% in September, in line with expectations and after an uptick of 0.1% the previous month.
GBP/USD plummeted 2.12% to trade at a fresh 31-year low of 1.2346.
The U.K. Office for National Statistics earlier said that manufacturing production increased by 0.2% in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.5% gain. Year-on-year, manufacturing production rose 0.5% in August, compared to forecasts for a 0.9% increase.
The report also showed that industrial production fell by 0.4% in August, confounding forecasts for a 0.1% rise.
A separate report showed that the U.K. trade deficit widened to £12.11 billion in August from a revised £9.51 billion in July. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit £11.30 billion in August.
Market analysts believe that an overnight “flash crash” of the pound was initially driven by computer-initiated sell orders.
But concerns over a potential ‘hard Brexit’ have been weighing heavily on the pound all week. French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday that the EU needed to remain firm with Britain in the Brexit negotiations.
Elsewhere, USD/JPY slipped 0.24% to 103.67, just off the previous session’s one-month peak of 104.16, while USD/CHF held steady at 0.9811.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were little changed, with AUD/USD at 0.7585 and with NZD/USD at 0.7159.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD eased 0.08% to trade at 1.3204, off a seven-month peak of 1.3296 hit earlier in the day.
Also Friday, Statistics Canada said the number of employed people increased by 67,200 in September, beating expectations for a 10,000 rise and after a 26,200 gain the previous month.
Canada’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.0% last month, in line with expectations.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.16% at 96.52, off two-month highs of 97.21 reached overnight.
This week speculators were more bullish on the crude and the Aussie dollar. They were more bearish on the pound sterling. Bullishness decreased on gold and the S&P 500.
Note: This data closes on Wednesday so the last two days of trading are not reflected. There were was very little change in investor sentiment this week.
Gold prices bounced off four-month lows on Friday, but the precious metal remained under pressure as growing hopes for a U.S. rate hike before the end of the year continued to boost demand for the dollar.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were up 0.14% at $1,254.85.
The December contract ended Thursday’s session 1.23% lower at $1,253.00 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,249.90, Thursday’s low and a four-month low and resistance at $1,374.00, Wednesday’s high.
The dollar was boosted after data on Thursday showed that U.S. initial jobless claims decreased by 5,000 to 249,000 in the week ending October 1. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 3,000 to 257,000 last week.
Market participants were awaiting the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later in the day for further indications on the strength of the job market, as the Federal Reserve has indicated that future interest rate decisions will be data-dependent.
The precious metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.43% at 97.08, the highest since July 27.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal’s appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for December delivery dropped 0.62% to $17.237 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery slipped 0.26% to $2.150 a pound.
Oil edged lower Friday as U.S. crude Friday held above $50 on hopes of a cut in OPEC output next month.
U.S. crude was down 15 cents, or 0.30% at $50.29 at 06:45 ET, while Brent crude fell 0.48% to $52.26.
OPEC members are scheduled to meet November 30 in Vienna to discuss the details of an agreement to cut output to 32.5-33 million barrels per day.
The Algerian Energy Minister said Thursday OPEC may cut output by more if needed to stabilize the market.
Baker Hughes U.S. rig count data are due out later in the session.
There are concerns that higher prices could spark more activity in the U.S. shale sector.
The dollar index was up 0.33% as sterling slumped overnight. A stronger dollar weakens demand for oil.
See also the later report from Reuters at Investing.com: OPEC officials set for flurry of meetings to nail down Algeria deal.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures extended losses on Thursday morning, sinking to the lowest levels of the session after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose more than expected last week.
Natural gas for delivery in November on the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped 5.4 cents, or 1.78%, to $2.986 per million British thermal units by 10:33AM ET (14:33GMT). Futures were at around $3.030 prior to the release of the supply data.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 80 billion cubic feet in the week ended September 30, above expectations for an increase of 70 billion cubic feet.
That compared with a gain of 49 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 97 billion a year earlier and a five-year average build of 95 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.680 trillion cubic feet, 2% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 5.6% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Gas futures have made a dramatic recovery in recent months, rising nearly 50% since hitting a 20-year low of $1.611 in early March, as an unusually warm summer helped trim a supply surplus that was weighing on prices.
Gas futures have made a dramatic recovery in recent months, rising nearly 50% since hitting a 20-year low of $1.611 in early March, as an unusually warm summer helped trim a supply surplus that was weighing on prices.
Despite the recent rally, gains are likely to remain limited as traders react to the reality that higher summer demand for the commodity is coming to an end.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.
But with autumn having started on September 22, power burns to feed air conditioning demand have probably peaked for now, market analysts said.