Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.24%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.24% to hit a new 3-months low, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.17%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.24%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were CaterpillarInc (NYSE:CAT), which rose 1.28% or 1.04 points to trade at 82.31 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 0.68% or 0.40 points to end at 58.83 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 0.62% or 0.74 points to 120.92 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), which fell 1.74% or 1.51 points to trade at 85.09 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 1.00% or 1.06 points to end at 104.66 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was down 0.95% or 0.89 points to 92.48.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG) which rose 8.88% to 11.03, Mohawk Industries Inc (NYSE:MHK) which was up 7.85% to settle at 190.87 and Motorola Solutions Inc (NYSE:MSI) which gained 6.51% to close at 75.93.
The worst performers were Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) which was down 13.50% to 44.80 in late trade, Qorvo Inc (NASDAQ:QRVO) which lost 9.98% to settle at 51.08 and Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) which was down 7.70% to 23.49 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were ConforMIS Inc (NASDAQ:CFMS) which rose 33.87% to 9.09, Aptose Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:APTO) which was up 24.44% to settle at 1.050 and Cara Therapeutic (NASDAQ:CARA) which gained 23.43% to close at 7.27.
The worst performers were MDC Partners Inc (NASDAQ:MDCA) which was down 59.52% to 3.40 in late trade, Invuity Inc (NASDAQ:IVTY) which lost 44.86% to settle at 5.10 and Autobytel Inc (NASDAQ:ABTL) which was down 31.26% to 11.040 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1597 to 1512 and 121 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1289 rose and 1124 declined, while 207 ended unchanged.
Shares in MDC Partners Inc (NASDAQ:MDCA) fell to 5-year lows; losing 59.52% or 5.00 to 3.40. Shares in Autobytel Inc (NASDAQ:ABTL) fell to 52-week lows; down 31.26% or 5.020 to 11.040.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 1.72% to 22.46 a new 3-months high.
Gold for December delivery was up 0.15% or 1.95 to $1305.25 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 1.16% or 0.52 to hit $44.14 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 1.66% or 0.77 to trade at $45.58 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.24% to 1.1132, while USD/JPY rose 0.07% to 103.05.
The US Dollar Index was down 0.20% at 97.00.
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The dollar moved back lower against the other majors currencies on Friday, as uncertainty over the outcome of next week’s U.S. presidential election overshadowed the release of mostly positive U.S. data.
EUR/USD edged up 0.13% to 1.1119, re-approaching Thursday’s three-and-a-half week high of 1.1128.
The U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 161,000 jobs in October, disappointing expectations for an increase of 175,000. However, September’s figure was revised up to a 191,000 gain from a previously estimated rise of 156,000.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.9% last month from 5.0% in September, in line with expectations.
Data also showed that U.S. average hourly earnings rose 0.4% in October, exceeding expectations for an uptick of 0.3%.
A separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $36.44 billion in September from $40.46 billion in October. Analysts had expected the trade deficit to hit $37.80 billion in September.
Meanwhile, investors were still cautious amid growing uncertainty over Hillary Clinton’s prospects ahead of the November 8 presidential election, amid fears over the implications of a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD climbed 0.63% to a fresh one-month peak of 1.2538.
The pound remained supported after the UK high court ruled on Thursday that the government does not have the authority to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to start the UK’s exit from the EU without a parliamentary vote.
USD/JPY added 0.17% to 103.16, off Thursday’s one-month low of 102.54, while USD/CHF slid 0.41% to 0.9698.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.18% at 0.7666 and with NZD/USD shedding 0.33% to 0.7308.
Earlier Friday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said that retail sales rose 0.6% in September, beating expectations for a 0.4% gain.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held steady at 1.3407, after hitting an eight-month high of 1.3465 earlier in the session.
Statistics Canada reported that the number of employed people rose by 43,900 in October, beating expectations for a 10,000 decline, after an increase of 67,200 the previous month.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.0% last month, as expected.
However, Canada’s trade deficit widened to C$4.08 billion in September from C$1.99 billion the previous month, confounding expectations for a deficit of C$1.70 billion.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.20% at 97.00, just below Thursday’s three-week lows of 97.07.
This week speculators remained extremely bullish on gold and oil, very bearish on the pound and euro, while still holding a bullish view of the yen.
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 moved lower on Friday, but losses were expected to remain limited as markets were jittery ahead of a U.S. jobs report due later in the day and the U.S. presiential election next week.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were down 0.29% at $1,299.95.
The December contract ended Thursday’s session 0.37% lower at $1,303.30 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,287.30, Thursday’s low and resistance at $1,307.00, Wednesday’s high and a one-month peak.
Investors were looking ahead to the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report due later in the day for further indications on the strength of the job market, after U.S. payroll processing firm ADP reported on Wednesday that non-farm private employment rose less than expected last month.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious after the FBI said last Friday that it would review more emails related to Hillary Clinton’s private email use while she was secretary of state.
The news sparked fresh uncertainty over Mrs. Clinton’s election prospects ahead of the November 8 vote, amid fears over the implications of a victory for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for December delivery dropped 0.78% to $18.273 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery slipped 0.18% to $2.245 a pound.
Oil was mixed to lower Friday near five-week lows as sentiment remained downbeat on ongoing supply glut concerns.
U.S. crude was off 1 cent, or 0.02%, at $44.65 at 07:45 ET while Brent crude shed 0.35% to $46.19.
Oil futures are down some 13% from recent highs hit mid-October and are set for a fall of 8% for the week.
Concerns about a market-unfriendly outcome to the U.S. presidential elections on November 8 are expected to enhance aversion to risk.
Skepticism persists about OPEC’s ability to deliver a planned cut in output to 32.5-33 million barrels per day.
The huge jump of over 14 million barrels in official U.S. crude stocks in the latest week underscored concerns about supply.
Baker Hughes U.S. rig count figures are due out Friday. The current count stands at 441.
The dollar index inched higher. A stronger dollar depresses demand for oil.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures pushed higher on Thursday morning, after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose slightly less than forecast last week.
Natural gas for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange inched up 1.5 cents, or 0.54%, to $2.807 per million British thermal units by 10:41AM ET (14:41GMT). Futures were at around $2.788 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 54 billion cubic feet in the week ended October 28, just below market expectations for an increase of 56 billion cubic feet.
That compared with a gain of 73 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 56 billion a year earlier and a five-year average build of 63 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 3.963 trillion cubic feet, just 1.2% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 4.4% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Natural gas futures are down 10% so far this week as warmer-than-average weather in key gas-consuming regions in the U.S. ignited speculation that a mild winter will curtail demand for the heating fuel and leave a glut of it in storage, weighing on prices next year.
Gas futures often reach a seasonal low in October, when mild weather reduces demand, before recovering in the winter, when heating-fuel use peaks.
