Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.71%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Technology and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.71%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.57%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.63%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which rose 0.42% or 0.22 points to trade at 52.57 at the close. Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) added 0.34% or 0.12 points to end at 34.27 and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) was up 0.11% or 0.08 points to 72.35 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), which fell 1.70% or 2.85 points to trade at 165.17 at the close. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined 1.67% or 1.91 points to end at 112.71 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 1.37% or 1.22 points to 87.77.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Endo International PLC (NASDAQ:ENDP) which rose 15.45% to 23.39, First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) which was up 4.63% to settle at 37.06 and Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which gained 2.57% to close at 76.29.
The worst performers were Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG) which was down 5.70% to 9.10 in late trade, Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) which lost 5.63% to settle at 70.39 and Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) which was down 5.59% to 39.54 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were BioLineRx Ltd (NASDAQ:BLRX) which rose 26.73% to 1.280, Marinus Pharma (NASDAQ:MRNS) which was up 26.14% to settle at 2.22 and Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:CLSD) which gained 18.98% to close at 13.9800.
The worst performers were Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) which was down 28.14% to 1.200 in late trade, Rave Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:RAVE) which lost 19.79% to settle at 3.080 and Digital Turbine Inc (NASDAQ:APPS) which was down 19.35% to 1.000 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2135 to 1025 and 84 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1530 fell and 988 advanced, while 102 ended unchanged.
Shares in Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ:ENPH) fell to all time lows; falling 28.14% or 0.470 to 1.200. Shares in Rave Restaurant Group Inc (NASDAQ:RAVE) fell to 3-years lows; falling 19.79% or 0.760 to 3.080. Shares in Clearside Biomedical Inc (NASDAQ:CLSD) rose to all time highs; rising 18.98% or 2.2300 to 13.9800.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 2.00% to 12.26.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.26% or 3.45 to $1341.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 3.56% or 1.65 to hit $44.67 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 3.34% or 1.59 to trade at $46.06 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.21% to 1.1232, while USD/JPY rose 0.32% to 101.07.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.07% at 95.38.
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The dollar held onto modest gains against the other major currencies in quiet trade on Friday, although the Federal Reserve’s decision this week to leave interest rates on hold continued to weigh on the greenback.
USD/JPY gained 0.31% to 101.05, off Thursday’s one-month low of 100.06.
The greenback slightly recovered from broad losses posted after the Fed decided on Wednesday to leave interest rates unchanged and projected a less aggressive rise in interest rates next year and in 2018.
However, the U.S. central bank signaled that it could tighten monetary policy before the end of the year if the job market continued to improve.
EUR/USD held steady at 1.1210.
Earlier Friday, research group Markit said its German manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 54.3 in September from 53.6 the previous month, beating expectations for a downtick to 53.1.
However, the German services PMI slipped to 50.6 this month from 51.7 in August.
Markit also reported that its French manufacturing PMI increased to 49.5 in September from 48.3 in August, compared to expectations for a rise to 48.4.
The French services PMI advanced to 54.1 this month from 52.3 in August.
For the entire euro zone, the composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and service sector activity, slipped to 52.6 in Septemner from 52.8 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to remain unchanged.
Meanwhile, GBP/USD tumbled 0.96% to 1.3009, the lowest since August 16, andUSD/CHF rose 0.30% to trade at 0.9717.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.30% at 0.7620 and with NZD/USD losing 1.09% to 0.7233.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD climbed 0.84% to trade at 1.3151, off the previous session’s one-and-a-half week trough of September 9.
The loonie weakened after Statistics Canada said the consumer price index slipped 0.2% in August, confounding expectations for a 0.1% rise. Year-on-year, CPI increased by 1.1% last month, lower that expectations for a 1.4% gain.
Core CPI, which excludes the eight most volatile items, was flat in August, disappointing expectations for a 0.2% rise.
A separate report showed that Canada’s retail sales fell 0.1% in July, compared to expectations for an increase of 0.1%.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, ticked down 0.1% in July, confounding expectations for a 0.5% rise.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.07% at 95.38, off a nearly two-week low of 94.95 on Thursday.
CTFC Commitment of Traders (Report from 14 September)
This week speculators were less bullish on the the U.S. dollar, S&P 500 and gold.
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 turned lower on Friday, as investors chose to lock in profits from the previous metal’s climb to a two-and-a-half week high overnight as the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged continued to support.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were down 0.45% at $1,338.65.
The December contract ended Thursday’s session 1.00% higher at $1,344.70 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,328.00, the low from September 9 and resistance at $1,345.40, the high from September 8.
Gold prices rallied after the Fed decided on Wednesday to hold interest rates and projected a less aggressive rise in interest rates next year and in 2018.
However, the U.S. central bank signaled that it could tighten monetary policy before the end of the year if the job market continued to improve.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates. A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for December delivery tumbled 0.93% to $19.907 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery slipped 0.11% to $2.192 a pound.
Oil prices fell about 3 percent on Friday, paring weekly gains, on a report that Saudi Arabia did not expect an agreement at talks next week among major crude exporters aimed at freezing production.
Crude futures slumped after Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia did not expect a decision at Algiers, the capital of Algeria where the biggest oil producers are expected to convene next week for talks, traders said. Bloomberg cited a “delegate” as source, said traders who saw the report.
Brent crude oil was down $1.33, or 2.8 percent, at $46.32 a barrel by 11:56 a.m. EDT (1556 GMT). For the week, it was up 1.6 percent.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CLc1) was down $1.40, or 2.9 percent, at $44.92. On the week, WTI showed a gain of less than 5 percent.
Earlier in the session, Brent and WTI were headed for their largest weekly gain in more than a month, reacting to a Reuters report that Saudi Arabia has offered to reduce production if rival Iran caps its own output this year. The Reuters report was based on sources who were familiar with discussions between the two sides.
Traders and investors were also awaiting a U.S. oil rig count report to ascertain if more drillers were returning to the well pad in the world’s largest oil consumer. The weekly report by oil services firm Baker Hughes, due at 1:00 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) had shown rig additions in twelve out of the last 13 weeks. [RIG/U]
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures declined on Thursday morning, turning lower after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose broadly in line with market expectations last week.
Natural gas for delivery in October on the New York Mercantile Exchange shed 2.5 cents, or 0.82%, to trade at $3.032 per million British thermal units by 10:35AM ET (14:35GMT). Futures were at around $3.059 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 52 billion cubic feet in the week ended September 16, matching expectations.
That compared with a gain of 62 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 105 billion a year earlier and a five-year average build of 83 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.551 trillion cubic feet, 4.0% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 7.5% above the five-year average for this time of year.
On Wednesday, gas futures surged to a 16-month high of $3.098 after weather reports suggested more heat and high demand for gas-fired power through the end of September.
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 due to start on September 22, power burns to feed air conditioning demand have probably peaked for now, market analysts said.
Unless intense late-summer heat boosts demand from power plants, stockpiles could possibly test physical storage limits of 4.3 trillion cubic feet at the end of October.
