Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.19%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Healthcare, Consumer Goods and Utilities sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.19%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.24%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.23%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were ChevronCorporation (NYSE:CVX), which rose 1.02% or 1.10 points to trade at 109.22 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) added 0.69% or 1.01 points to end at 146.34 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 0.59% or 0.66 points to 111.84 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK), which fell 1.29% or 0.81 points to trade at 61.89 at the close. Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) declined 1.29% or 1.07 points to end at 82.00 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was down 1.12% or 1.11 points to 98.26.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which rose 6.90% to 28.96, Ross Stores Inc (NASDAQ:ROST) which was up 3.77% to settle at 68.00 and Weyerhaeuser Company (NYSE:WY) which gained 3.63% to close at 31.14.
The worst performers were Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which was down 16.61% to 25.61 in late trade, First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) which lost 6.26% to settle at 29.21 and Under Armour Inc C (NYSE:UAc) which was down 6.01% to 23.750 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Fuwei Films Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:FFHL) which rose 58.42% to 0.9600, Signal Genetics Inc (NASDAQ:SGNL) which was up 32.36% to settle at 10.0200 and Lombard Medical Inc (NASDAQ:EVAR) which gained 31.68% to close at 0.8300.
The worst performers were Superconductor Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:SCON) which was down 36.67% to 2.0900 in late trade, Hongli Clean Energy Technologies Corp (NASDAQ:CETC) which lost 35.38% to settle at 4.2000 and Wins Finance Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:WINS) which was down 30.42% to 99.00 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1658 to 1499 and 93 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1385 rose and 1075 declined, while 154 ended unchanged.
Shares in Ross Stores Inc (NASDAQ:ROST) rose to all time highs; rising 3.77% or 2.47 to 68.00. Shares in First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) fell to 3-years lows; losing 6.26% or 1.95 to 29.21. Shares in Under Armour Inc C (NYSE:UAc) fell to all time lows; losing 6.01% or 1.520 to 23.750. Shares in Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) rose to 52-week highs; rising 1.02% or 1.10 to 109.22.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.37% to 12.90 a new 1-month low.
Gold for December delivery was down 0.70% or 8.55 to $1208.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.29% or 0.13 to hit $45.55 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 0.62% or 0.29 to trade at $46.78 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.31% to 1.0591, while USD/JPY rose 0.71% to 110.90.
The US Dollar Index was up 0.40% at 101.40.
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The dollar continued to hover at 14-year highs against the other majors currencies on Friday, amid sustained optimism over the strength of the U.S. economy and growing expectations for a December rate hike by the Federal Reserve.
EUR/USD slipped 0.24% to 1.0599, just off an 11-month trough of 1.0582 hit earlier in the session.
The greenback remained broadly supported after strong U.S. initial jobless claims and inflation data on Thursday fueled further expectations for a rate hike at the Fed’s December policy meeting.
In addition, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said in testimony to Congress that an increase in interest rates could be “appropriate relatively soon”.
On Friday, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George said that while she supports raising interest rates, the U.S. central bank must do so only gradually.
Meanwhile, the euro weakened after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said earlier Friday that the central bank will continue to act as warranted using all instruments available.
Speaking at the 26th European Banking Congress, in Frankfurt, Draghi added that the euro zone’s economic recovery still relies to a considerable degree on accommodative monetary policy.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD declined 0.66% to 1.2337.
USD/JPY gained 0.32% to a five-month high of 110.47, while USD/CHF rose 0.26% to 1.0098.
The Australian dollar remained weaker, but AUD/USD down 0.62% at 0.7360, while NZD/USD added 0.16% to 0.7037.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD held steady at 1.3526.
Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the consumer price index gained 0.2% in October, in line with expectations. Year-on-year, consumer prices advanced 1.5% last month.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose by 0.2% in October, 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 0.47% at a 14-year peak of 101.47.
This week speculators remained extremely bullish on gold (although weakening from a week ago) and oil, very bearish on the pound and euro, while still holding a weakening bullish view of the yen.
Note: This data is for the week ending on Tuesday so the last three days of trading are not reflected. There were was very little change in investor sentiment this week.
Gold prices were hovering at a six-month low on Friday, as a broadly stronger U.S. dollar continued to dampen demand for the precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery were down 1.01% at $1,204.50, the lowest since May.
The December contract ended Thursday’s session 0.57% lower at $1,216.90 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,199.00 and resistance at $1,231.00, Thursday’s high.
The greenback strengthened broadly after the U.S. Department of Labor said on Thursday that initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 last week to 235,000, the lowest level since 1973.
Separately, the Commerce Department said housing starts surged 25% in October to hit 1.323 million units, while building permits rose 0.3% to 1.229 million units.
Data also showed that U.S. consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, in line with expectations. Year-over-year, consumer prices increased by 1.6% last month, its highest reading since October 2014.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.30% at a fresh 14-year peak of 101.30.
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.
The upbeat data added to optimism over the strength of the U.S. economy and also fueled further expectations for a rate hike at the Fed’s policy meeting next month.
Earlier Thursday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen warned Congress of the danger of waiting too long to tighten monetary policy and that a rate hike was likely “relatively soon.”
The comments came a day after Philadelphia Fed head Patrick Harker said that he was in favor of raising interest rates, while Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said the Fed must not overreact to market moves following the shock result of the presidential election.
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.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for December delivery tumbled 1.16% to $16.580 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery dropped 0.36% to $2.482 a pound.
Oil was mixed Friday as the strengthen of the dollar outweighed hopes for an OPEC output cut.
U.S. crude was down 5 cents, or 0.11%, at $45.37 a barrel at 07:00 ET, while Brent crude gained 0.37% to $46.66.
Some OPEC members are reportedly due Friday to hold informal talks in Doha on a planned cut in the cartel’s output to 32.5-33 million barrels a day. Non-OPEC member Russia may join the talks.
OPEC is due to hold a formal meeting in Vienna on November 30. A cut of the planned scope would do little to reduce a persistent supply glut.
A higher dollar pushes up the cost of oil imports for non-U.S.-denominated countries. The dollar index was above 101.
Baker Hughes U.S. rig count figures showed an increase of 19 new rigs for the week..
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 much more than the five-year average for this time of year last week.
Natural gas for delivery in December on the New York Mercantile Exchange tumbled 4.6 cents, or 1.7%, to $2.716 per million British thermal units by 10:33AM ET (15:33GMT). Futures were at around $2.740 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 30 billion cubic feet in the week ended November 11, just below market expectations for an increase of 31 billion cubic feet.
That compared with a gain of 54 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 15 billion a year earlier and a five-year average build of 3 billion cubic feet.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 4.047 trillion cubic feet, 1.3% higher than levels at this time a year ago and 5.3% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Market analysts have warned that supplies in storage could peak at around 4.050 trillion cubic feet by the end of November unless subfreezing winter temperatures result in higher demand.
Updated forecasting models showed a weather system pushing into the western U.S. later this week, which will then track toward the eastern U.S. next weekend, bringing rain, snow, and cooler than normal temperatures along with it.
Natural gas prices typically rise ahead of the winter as colder weather sparks indoor-heating demand.
