Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.02%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Telecoms, Consumer Goods and Technology sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.02% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.17%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.41%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which rose 1.51% or 0.73 points to trade at 49.19 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 1.11% or 1.90 points to end at 172.71 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 1.03% or 1.46 points to 143.00 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH), which fell 3.68% or 6.03 points to trade at 157.62 at the close. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) declined 0.66% or 0.54 points to end at 81.76 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was down 0.59% or 0.65 points to 110.06.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) which rose 10.64% to 96.57, VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) which was up 4.59% to settle at 52.68 and Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE:CL) which gained 4.32% to close at 71.98.
The worst performers were Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) which was down 6.51% to 58.48 in late trade, Flowserve Corporation (NYSE:FLS) which lost 4.80% to settle at 48.37 and General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) which was down 3.75% to 59.23 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were MoSys Inc (NASDAQ:MOSY) which rose 54.19% to 3.5000, LMI Aerospace Inc (NASDAQ:LMIA) which was up 48.64% to settle at 13.66 and Atlantic Alliance Partnership Corp (NASDAQ:AAPC) which gained 42.35% to close at 25.62.
The worst performers were X T L Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (NASDAQ:XTLB) which was down 34.92% to 2.330 in late trade, ArQule Inc (NASDAQ:ARQL) which lost 18.37% to settle at 1.200 and Aoxin Tianli Group Inc (NASDAQ:ABAC) which was down 16.92% to 2.7000 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1722 to 1495 and 45 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1431 rose and 1050 declined, while 143 ended unchanged.
Shares in Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) rose to all time highs; up 10.64% or 9.29 to 96.57. Shares in Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) rose to all time highs; up 1.11% or 1.90 to 172.71. Shares in Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) rose to all time highs; up 1.03% or 1.46 to 143.00. Shares in MoSys Inc (NASDAQ:MOSY) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 54.19% or 1.2300 to 3.5000. Shares in LMI Aerospace Inc (NASDAQ:LMIA) rose to 52-week highs; up 48.64% or 4.47 to 13.66. Shares in ArQule Inc (NASDAQ:ARQL) fell to 52-week lows; down 18.37% or 0.270 to 1.200. Shares in Atlantic Alliance Partnership Corp (NASDAQ:AAPC) rose to all time highs; gaining 42.35% or 7.62 to 25.62.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.32% to 11.37.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.40% or 4.95 to $1236.65 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March rose 0.11% or 0.06 to hit $53.42 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract rose 0.23% or 0.13 to trade at $55.78 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.55% to 1.0615, while USD/JPY fell 0.36% to 112.84.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.42% at 100.87.
Read additional news from Reuters at Investing.com.
The U.S. dollar reversed early morning losses against major currencies on Friday, and gained against both sterling and the euro amid renewed political tension in Europe and weaker-than-expected UK retail sales.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.41% at 100.87.
Despite lower optimism of a March rate hike, the dollar is on course to snap a two-day losing streak, benefiting from a slump in both the euro and sterling.
According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool less than 15% of traders expect the Fed to raise interest rates at its next meeting in March, compared to a 22% likelihood of a March rate hike a day earlier on Thursday.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD traded down almost 0.5% at $1.2428, after the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales decreased 0.3% in January, compared to expectation for a 0.9% rise.
GBP/EUR hit a 7-day low at 10am GMT, but pared losses in the U.S. session to trade at €1.1693.
EUR/USD slid 0.51% to $1.6021 as concerns that anti-EU-parties could succeed in upcoming European elections – a threat to the future of the EU.
The Australian and New Zealand dollars were weaker, with AUD/USD down 0.49% at 0.7658 and with NZD/USD shedding 0.39% to 0.7184.
Meanwhile, USD/CAD rose 0.31% to trade at 1.3110 while the yen spiked in trade amid political uncertainty in Europe and lack of movement in fiscal changes in the United States with USD/JPY down 0.4% at 112.85.
Crude oil net lings hit an all-time high. There was significant increase in bullishness for the Candadian dollar. All other positions we follow in this report had insignificant changes.
Note: This data is for the week ending on Tuesday so the last three days of trading are not reflected.
Gold struggled to hold onto gains Friday, despite renewed political uncertainty in Europe and a dip in optimism surrounding a U.S. March rate hike.
Gold futures reached a session high of $1244.95 in European mid-day trade, buoyed by political uncertainty in France, after a report suggested that the two main left-leaning candidates in France’s presidential election, Benoit Hamon and Jean-Luc Melechon are considering the possibility of joining forces.
Gold pared gains soon after, as the US Dollar Index Futures snapped a two-day losing streak, hitting a session high 100.90 at 11:45 ET.
The yellow-metal had been under pressure throughout the week against the backdrop of a spike in optimism of a March rate hike, after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen struck hawkish tone in a two-day testimony to congress.
Ms. Yellen said that it would be “unwise” to keep US interest rates lower for longer and suggested that the US economy was “coming closer to achieving Fed mandates”. However, optimism for a rate hike has since waned – According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool less than 15% of traders expect the Fed to raise interest rates at its next meeting in March, compared to a 22% likelihood of a March rate hike a day earlier on Thursday.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange traded down 0.18% or $2.35 at $1238.45 a troy ounce in the early afternoon and closed at $1236.65, down 0.40% or 4.95 for the session.
A firmer U.S. dollar continued to weigh heavily on commodities across the board.
Silver Futures traded at $18.03 while copper slid 0.46% to trade at $2.71 per pound.
Crude oil prices continued to trade within a narrow range Friday but ultimately settled higher as traders weighed up OPEC’s effort to reduce supply against the rise in crude inventories to record high levels.
Crude futures struggled for direction, despite a spike in early morning trade, amid reports suggesting that The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could extend an output cut, which commence January, beyond the previously agreed six-month period.
Crude pared its gains in late afternoon trade, following a spike in the dollar and an increase in U.S. weekly rig counts, after oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported its weekly count of U.S. oil rigs in operation rose by 6 to a total of 597.
The rise in the number of U.S. oil rigs, added to fears that increased drilling activity from U.S. crude producers may severely hamper OPEC’s plan to drain the supply glut in order to support crude prices.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange Crude Oil Futures for March delivery settled at $53.40, up 4 cents, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent gained 8 cents to settle at $55.74 a barrel.
Oil’s turbulent end to the week, comes after The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including Russia, released a report on Monday, confirming its members were in high compliance with last year’s agreed production cut.
OPEC and other exporters including Russia trimmed output in January by 1.7 million barrels a day – close to the agreed cut of almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).
Energy traders shift attention to next week’s agenda, which includes a fresh round of crude inventory updates on Thursday, Feb 23.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures fell to a three-month low on Thursday, after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. fell less than expected last week.
Natural gas for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange slumped 4.4 cents, or around 1.5%, to $2.881 per million British thermal units by 10:35AM ET (15:35GMT), after falling to a session low of $2.873, a level not seen since November 18.
Futures were at around $2.915 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. declined by 114 billion cubic feet in the week ended February 10, below market expectations for a drop of 124 billion cubic feet.
That compared with a withdrawal of 152 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, 163 billion a year earlier and a five-year average drop of 156 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.445 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 12.4% lower than levels at this time a year ago and 3.5% above the five-year average for this time of year.
The natural-gas market has been on the defensive in recent days after forecasting models showed cold air exiting the Northeast, with the updated 6-10 day forecast looking warmer than previously projected.
Prices of the heating fuel are down almost 21% since the start of the year as forecasts for warm winter weather weighed on heating demand expectations.
About half of U.S. homes use natural gas for heating.
