Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.21%
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Technology, Financials and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Healthcare and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.21% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.14%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.54%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walt DisneyCompany (NYSE:DIS), which rose 2.86% or 2.72 points to trade at 97.68 at the close. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) added 1.46% or 2.93 points to end at 203.80 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 1.16% or 0.36 points to 31.36 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which fell 2.72% or 0.91 points to trade at 32.58 at the close. EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD) declined 2.47% or 1.75 points to end at 69.20 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 1.65% or 1.07 points to 63.89.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) which rose 29.73% to 87.92, Tegna Inc (NYSE:TGNA) which was up 7.22% to settle at 21.2300 and Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) which gained 4.80% to close at 58.72.
The worst performers were Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ALXN) which was down 10.45% to 113.62 in late trade, Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) which lost 8.94% to settle at 31.58 and Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) which was down 8.59% to 50.67 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Ptc Therape (NASDAQ:PTCT) which rose 88.33% to 11.30, Fate Therap (NASDAQ:FATE) which was up 36.28% to settle at 2.930 and Turtle Beach Corp (NASDAQ:HEAR) which gained 35.92% to close at 1.930.
The worst performers were Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LTRPB) which was down 23.49% to 17.75 in late trade, Fronteo Inc (NASDAQ:FTEO) which lost 18.15% to settle at 15.47 and Sundance Energy Australia Ltd (NASDAQ:SNDE) which was down 13.86% to 11.56 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1659 to 1534 and 53 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1834 rose and 672 declined, while 109 ended unchanged.
Shares in NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) rose to all time highs; gaining 29.73% or 20.14 to 87.92. Shares in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) fell to 52-week lows; down 8.59% or 4.76 to 50.67. Shares in Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 1.46% or 2.93 to 203.80. Shares in Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:LTRPB) fell to all time lows; losing 23.49% or 5.45 to 17.75.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.60% to 14.21.
Gold for December delivery was down 3.30% or 41.80 to $1224.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December fell 3.22% or 1.44 to hit $43.22 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract fell 2.57% or 1.18 to trade at $44.66 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.39% to 1.0854, while USD/JPY fell 0.07% to 106.76.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.21% at 99.00.
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The dollar turned higher against the other majors currencies on Friday, after data showed that U.S. consumer sentiment increased to a 5-month high in November and as investors remained optimistic regarding Donald Trump’s electoral win on Wednesday.
EUR/USD slipped 0.28% to 1.0866.
In a preliminary report, the University of Michigan said its consumer sentiment index rose to 91.6 this month from 87.2 in October. That was its highest reading since June 2016.
Analysts had forecast an uptick to 87.5.
The dollar also found support as investors began to think that a Trump presidency may not be as bad for financial markets as initially expected.
Market participants were especially hoping to see Trump’s policies boost spending and inflation.
The Mexican peso continued to tumble, with MXN/USD down 2.47% at fresh record lows of 0.0474.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Mexican central bank officials said they were watching market volatility but refrained from any measures to stem the peso’s decline.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD rose 0.31% to 1.2588, the highest since October 6.
The pound found some support as a number of British lawmakers said they are prepared to vote against Brexit negotiations after U.K. judges ruled that the government needed parliamentary approval to begin its departure process from the EU.
USD/JPY slipped 0.15% to 106.67, just off Thursday’s more than three-month high of 106.94, while USD/CHF held steady at 0.9872.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars extended earlier losses, with AUD/USD down 0.84% at 0.7545 and with NZD/USD tumbling 1.11% to 0.7132.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD climbed 0.53% to trade at a fresh seven-month high of 1.3542.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.15% at 98.94, re-approaching Thursday’s two-and-a-half week highs of 99.08.
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 dropped to fresh four-week lows on Friday, as market sentiment continued to improve amid growing optimism surrounding the effects of a Trump presidency on the U.S. economy.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were down 0.71% at $1,257.35.
The December contract ended Thursday’s session 0.56% lower at $1,266.40 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,249.90, the low from October 17 and resistance at $1,287.50, Thursday’s high.
Demand for the safe-haven precious metal weakened as investors began to think that a Trump presidency may not be as bad for financial markets as initially expected.
Market participants were especially hoping to see Trump’s policies boost spending and inflation in the U.S.
Donald Trump was declared the 45th U.S. President on Wednesday, confounding expectations for a Democratic victory.
Gold was also hit by a stronger dollar, after the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that initial jobless claims decreased by 11,000 to 254,000 in the week ending November 5. Analysts had expected jobless claims to drop by 5,000 to 260,000 last week.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18% at 98.60, just off Thursday’s two-and-a-half week highs of 99.08.
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 slid 0.49% to $18.645 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery surged 2.98% to $2.628 a pound.
Prices of the red metal gained 7.9 cents, or 3.34%, on Wednesday after Trump’s victory speech included a pledge to spend on rebuilding America’s infrastructure.
The metal is regarded as a leading indicator of the global economy. It is used in the construction of buildings, power generation and transmission and the manufacture of consumer electronics.
Oil was down by over 1% Friday on persistent concerns of a supply glut.
U.S. crude was down 72 cents, or 1.61%, at $43.94 at 03:00 ET, while Brent crude lost 1.37% to $45.21.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) Thursday said the glut could extend into 2017 in the absence of a cut in output by OPEC.
OPEC plans to rein in output to 32.5-33 million barrels a day but doubts remain about whether it can get members to finally agree to that.
OPEC reported record output last month of 33.64 million barrels a day.
The cartel has until its formal meeting in Vienna on November 30 to broker a deal.
Baker Hughes weekly rig count data are due out later in the session.
The number of rigs operating in the U.S. currently stands at 450.
There is speculation U.S. shale output could rise under a Trump presidency.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures fell sharply on Thursday morning, after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose slightly more than forecast last week.
Natural gas for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 8.4 cents, or 3.12%, to $2.607 per million British thermal units by 10:32AM ET (15:32GMT). Futures were at around $2.615 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 November 4, just above market expectations for an increase of 53 billion cubic feet.
That compared with a gain of 54 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 54 billion a year earlier and a five-year average build of 38 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 4.017 trillion cubic feet, just 1.2% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 4.7% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, updated weather forecasting models showed that high-pressure weather systems will dominate over the central and southern U.S. in the coming days, resulting in much warmer than normal conditions.
Overall, demand for natural gas will be much lighter than normal with the lack of subfreezing temperatures across the eastern U.S. and the Great Lakes region.
Natural gas futures are down almost 16% over the past two weeks as a mild start to the winter heating season added to concerns over a deepening supply glut.
Gas futures often reach a seasonal low in October, when mild weather reduces demand, before recovering in the winter, when heating fuel use peaks.