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 Telecoms, Financials and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.19%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.19%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.02%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), which rose 1.17% or 1.23 points to trade at 106.70 at the close. Meanwhile, Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) added 0.92% or 0.31 points to end at 34.06 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was up 0.88% or 1.61 points to 184.83 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 3.47% or 1.30 points to trade at 36.13 at the close. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) declined 1.63% or 0.76 points to end at 45.91 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 1.34% or 1.08 points to 79.25.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ:CERN) which rose 7.81% to 64.75, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) which was up 6.07% to settle at 106.60 and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) which gained 5.97% to close at 388.49.
The worst performers were Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) which was down 15.88% to 27.80 in late trade, Host Hotels & Resorts Inc (NYSE:HST) which lost 6.70% to settle at 17.95 and VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) which was down 5.57% to 54.63 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Monster Digital Inc (NASDAQ:MSDI) which rose 53.03% to 1.01, Yield10 Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ:YTEN) which was up 31.23% to settle at 0.597 and Strattec Security Corporation (NASDAQ:STRT) which gained 30.16% to close at 32.15.
The worst performers were Matrix Service Company (NASDAQ:MTRX) which was down 30.37% to 11.75 in late trade, FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) which lost 28.12% to settle at 1.150 and CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ:CYTR) which was down 25.69% to 0.509 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1953 to 1254 and 51 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1605 fell and 905 advanced, while 103 ended unchanged.
Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE:RCL) rose to all time highs; gaining 6.07% or 6.10 to 106.60. Shares in Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) fell to 52-week lows; down 1.63% or 0.76 to 45.91. Shares in Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) rose to all time highs; up 0.88% or 1.61 to 184.83. Shares in Matrix Service Company (NASDAQ:MTRX) fell to 3-years lows; losing 30.37% or 5.12 to 11.75. Shares in FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) fell to 5-year lows; down 28.12% or 0.450 to 1.150.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 4.63% to 10.84.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.29% or 3.70 to $1269.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 0.45% or 0.22 to hit $49.19 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 0.12% or 0.06 to trade at $51.88 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.21% to 1.0896, while USD/JPY rose 0.13% to 111.42.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.14% at 98.88
See also Dow closes lower but ends month in positive.
Read additional news from Reuters at Investing.com.
The dollar traded lower against a basket of major currencies on Friday, as sluggish U.S. economic data weighed on sentiment while the euro surged to a five-month high, buoyed by stronger Eurozone inflation data.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.18% to 98.84 by 18:14 EDT.
The dollar bounced off lows but remained under pressure, weighed by a surge in the euro, after Eurozone inflation rose faster than expected while U.S. consumer sentiment fell.
University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index hit 97 in April, slightly below economists’ expectations for a reading of 98.
Elsewhere, Eurozone inflation, measured by the consumer price index, rose 1.9% in April, which was faster than analysts had expected.
The faster than expected rise in consumer prices, fuelled expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) would start to consider tightening monetary policy, as April’s inflation print at 1.9% is close to the ECB inflation target rate of below, but close to, 2%.
EUR/USD rose by 0.24% to $1.0900 while EUR/GBP traded flat at 0.8419.
Meanwhile, GBP/USD gained 0.33% to trade at $1.2948, a six-month high, while USD/CAD inched 0.17% higher to $1.3657.
USD/JPY rose 0.15% as demand for safe-haven yen eased, despite a rise in geopolitical tensions, after Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said on Friday that the threat of North Korea launching a nuclear attack on its neighbours was “real”.
See also Forex – Dollar remains near 5-month lows vs. other majors.
This week speculators were less bearish on the yen and the pound and less bullish on Oil, although net longs remain at very high levels. Gold net longs are at a 5-month high again.
Note: This data is for the week ending on Tuesday so the last three days (this week two because markets were closed Friday) of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices traded flat on Friday, despite the release of bearish data, showing the U.S. economic suffered its weakest first-quarter growth in three years while consumer sentiment dipped in April.
Gold for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange added $2.23, or 0.18%, to $1,268.13 a troy ounce by 13:48 EDT.
Gold prices struggled to capitalise on a raft of sluggish U.S. economic data, as consumer sentiment fell more than expected while U.S. economic growth slowed in the first quarter of the year.
Gross domestic product grew at a 0.7% annual rate in the first three months of 2017, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, well below the 2.1% growth at the end of last year.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan reported its Consumer Sentiment Index hit 97 in April, slightly below economists’ expectations for a reading of 98.
Elsewhere, Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson stoked geopolitical tensions, after he said on Friday, that the threat of North Korea launching a nuclear attack on its neighbours was “real”.
A slump in dollar failed to fuel demand for the yellow metal, as the U.S. Dollar Index fell to 99.84, down 0.18% by 13:38 EDT.
Dollar-denominated gold is sensitive to moves in the dollar – A dip in the dollar makes dollar-denominated assets such as gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency and thus, increases demand.
Silver futures traded at $17.283, down 0.29%, a troy ounce while copper gained 0.50% to $2.606.
Platinum traded flat at $947.55 while natural gas rose by 1.70% to $3.294.
Crude futures settled higher on Friday, after Russia affirmed its commitment to the supply-cut agreement but gains were capped as investors mulled over data, which showed a surge in U.S. drilling activity.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery added 36 cents to settle at $49.33 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent gained 7 cents to trade at 51.89 a barrel.
Crude futures mounted a recovery on Friday, after sliding to a one-month low in the previous session, as Russia said its close to meeting its pledged 300,000 barrels-a-day cut amid concerns over rising U.S. production.
Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported its weekly U.S. rig count rose by 9 to 697, the highest rig count since April 2015.
Despite the record compliance with the supply-cut agreement in March, inventories in industrial countries remained above the five-year average, which is a key metric OPEC monitors.
Earlier this week, Saudi oil chief Khalid al-Falih acknowledged that the first quarter of cuts failed to stem the glut in supply to below the five-year average but hinted at the possibility of extending the supply-cut agreement beyond June.
“Consensus is building [concerning a possible deal extension], but it is not done yet,” Khalid al-Falih said last week.
In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). The deal to cut supply started in January this year for a period of six months until June.
OPEC will decide at talks on May 25 whether to extend production cuts beyond June.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures were lower on Thursday, albeit off the worst levels of the session after data showed that supplies in storage in the U.S. rose broadly in line with market expectations last week.
U.S. natural gas for June delivery shed 1.7 cents, or around 0.5%, to $3.254 per million British thermal units by 10:35AM ET (14:35GMT). Futures were at around $3.219 prior to the release of the supply data.
Prices of the heating fuel soared 10.6 cents on Wednesday, as traders reacted to cooler weather forecasts in the Midwest region.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 74 billion cubic feet in the week ended April 21, compared to forecasts for a build of 72 billion.
That compared with a gain of 54 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, an increase of 73 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 57 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.189 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 14.0% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 13.7% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, weather systems will sweep across the Great Lakes and Northeast with showers and slightly cool temperatures through the end of the month.
High pressure is expected to dominate the western and southern US with warmer than normal conditions during the period.
Natural gas prices have closely tracked weather forecasts in recent weeks, as traders try to gauge the impact of shifting outlooks on spring demand.
Gas use typically hits a seasonal low with spring’s mild temperatures, before warmer weather increases demand for gas-fired electricity generation to power air conditioning.
Nearly 50% of all U.S. households use gas for heating.
