Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.26%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Telecoms sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.26%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.41%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.42%.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were E I du Pont de Nemours & Co (NYSE:DD), which rose 2.98% or 2.35 points to trade at 81.14 at the close. Meanwhile, Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) added 1.77% or 0.81 points to end at 46.69 and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) was up 1.65% or 2.42 points to 148.95 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which fell 2.51% or 4.00 points to trade at 155.05 at the close. Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) declined 0.95% or 0.52 points to end at 53.95 and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was down 0.57% or 0.53 points to 92.09.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG) which rose 8.12% to 11.18, Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) which was up 6.43% to settle at 5.460 and CF Industries Holdings Inc (NYSE:CF) which gained 4.99% to close at 28.42.
The worst performers were Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) which was down 4.78% to 48.18 in late trade, International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) which lost 2.51% to settle at 155.05 and Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB) which was down 2.40% to 262.15 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Chanticleer Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HOTR) which rose 60.40% to 0.4050, Terravia Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:TVIA) which was up 50.80% to settle at 0.407 and Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ:DAIO) which gained 25.37% to close at 5.980.
The worst performers were First NBC Bank Holding Company (NASDAQ:FNBC) which was down 56.02% to 0.27 in late trade, Brightcove Inc (NASDAQ:BCOV) which lost 30.75% to settle at 6.03 and National CineMedia Inc (NASDAQ:NCMI) which was down 26.07% to 8.66 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2288 to 915 and 44 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1403 rose and 1092 declined, while 115 ended unchanged.
Shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.65% or 2.42 to 148.95. Shares in Brightcove Inc (NASDAQ:BCOV) fell to 52-week lows; down 30.75% or 2.67 to 6.03. Shares in Data I/O Corporation (NASDAQ:DAIO) rose to 5-year highs; up 25.37% or 1.210 to 5.980. Shares in National CineMedia Inc (NASDAQ:NCMI) fell to 5-year lows; losing 26.07% or 3.06 to 8.66.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.86% to 10.55.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.13% or 1.61 to $1230.21 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 2.07% or 0.94 to hit $46.46 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 2.07% or 1.00 to trade at $49.38 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.10% to 1.0995, while USD/JPY rose 0.09% to 112.57.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.17% at 98.44.
See also US stocks close higher: S&P 500, Nasdaq notch record close.
Read additional news from Reuters at Investing.com.
The dollar slumped to a six-month low against a basket of major currencies on Friday, despite the release of a bullish jobs report, as investors continued to back the euro ahead of the French presidential election on Sunday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.04% to 98.57 by 12:55 EDT.
In what was a volatile day of trade for the dollar, a strong non-farm payrolls report failed to spark a recovery in the greenback, as it slumped to six-month lows.
Investors cheered a rebound in the U.S. labor market, after job creation surged in April, as the U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs, which confounded expectations for an increase of 185,000.
The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since May 2007, dropping to 4.4%, down from 4.5% in March.
EUR/USD continued its march higher, rising to a six-month high of $1.0996 while EUR/GBP traded flat at 0.8484, as investors initiated positions ahead of the French election runoff vote, scheduled for Sunday.
Emmanuel Macron is widely expected to defeat anti-EU candidate Marine Le Pen on Sunday, as France takes to the polls to vote for its next president.
Elsewhere, investors looked ahead to a raft of comments from Federal Reserve officials including Fed chair Janet Yellen and San Francisco Fed President John Williams.
Comments from Vice Fed chair Stanley Fisher on Friday, had little impact on markets as his speech failed to touch on issues relating to future monetary policy.
GBP/USD gained 0.05% to $1.2961, after UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s conservative party celebrated a string of victories in local UK elections.
USD/JPY added 0.21% to 112.72 while USD/CAD traded at $1.3697, down 0.39%.
See also Forex – Dollar slips to fresh 6-month lows despite jobs data.
This week speculators were less bullish on oil, S&P 500, Gold, and Silver. Bearishness on the euro almost evaporated.
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 remained at three-month lows on Friday, as expectations for a June rate hike surged, after the U.S. economy created more jobs than expected in April, while unemployment fell to its lowest level since May 2007.
Gold for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $0.24 or 0.03%, to $1,229.09 a troy ounce by 13:31 EDT. Gold is on track for its biggest weekly drop in six-months.
Gold prices eased from session highs, as investor sentiment shifted towards risker assets, after The Labor Department said that the U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs, which confounded expectations for an increase of 185,000.
The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since May 2007, dropping to 4.4%, down from 4.5% in March.
The bullish jobs report sparked investors’ expectations for a June rate hike. According to investing.com’s Fed rate monitor tool, 74% of traders expect the U.S. central bank to increase its benchmark rate in June compared to roughly 60% of traders in the previous week.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
The selloff in gold eased later during the session, as investors looked ahead to the French election runoff vote, scheduled for Sunday.
After a strong performance by pro-EU candidate Emmanuel Macron in a TV presidential debate against rival Marine Le Pen on Wednesday, investors remained optimistic that Macron will garner enough votes to win the French presidency on Sunday.
Elsewhere, investors looked ahead to a raft of comments from Federal Reserve officials including Fed chair Janet Yellen and San Francisco Fed President John Williams.
In other precious metals trading, silver futures added 0.26% to $16.347 a troy ounce while platinum traded at $910.95, up 0.36%.
Copper gained 0.74% to $2.530 while natural gas rose by 2.45% to $3.264.
Crude futures settled higher on Friday, recovering from a five-month slump, after Saudi Arabia said its supports the idea of extending the supply-cut agreement beyond June while the number of active U.S. drilling rigs rose for an sixteenth straight week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery added 70 cents to settle at $46.22 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent gained 81 cents to trade at $49.17 a barrel.
Oil prices bounced back from five-month lows sustained in the previous session, after Saudi Arabia’s OPEC Governor Adeeb Al-Aama said OPEC and non-OPEC nations were close to agreeing a deal to extend the supply-cut agreement for an additional six-months.
“Based on today’s data, there’s a growing conviction that a six-month extension may be needed to rebalance the market, but the length of the extension is not firm yet,” the Saudi official said.
In November last year, OPEC and other producers, including Russia agreed to cut output by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd).
OPEC is expected to decide at talks on May 25 whether to extend the current deal to cut production for an additional six-months to the end of the year.
Gains in oil futures were capped as concerns over rising U.S. oil output persisted, after oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported its weekly U.S. rig count rose by 6 to 703. It was the sixteenth straight weekly increase.
Crude futures settled 6.3% lower for the week, wiping out the most of the gains achieved since OPEC and other producers agreed a deal to rein in the glut in supply, which has pressured prices over the last three years.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures added to losses on Thursday, falling to the lowest levels of the session after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose more than expected last week.
U.S. natural gas for June delivery slipped 3.3 cents, or about 1%, to $3.196 per million British thermal units by 10:35AM ET (14:35GMT). Futures were at around $3.220 prior to the release of the supply data.
Prices of the heating fuel rose 3.3 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 67 billion cubic feet in the week ended April 28, disappointing forecasts for a build of 61 billion.
That compared with a gain of 74 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, an increase of 68 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 63 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.256 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 13.7% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 13.4% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, a strong spring storm tracking through the southeastern U.S. with heavy showers and thunderstorms will push across the Great Lakes and Northeast this weekend into early next week to keep below normal temperatures in place.
Overall, natural gas demand will be slightly stronger than normal well into next week, according to forecasters at NatGasWeather.com.
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.
