Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.11%
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Technology and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Industrials, Financials, and Consumer Services sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.11%, while the S&P 500 index fell 0.15%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.09%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which rose 1.40% or 2.15 points to trade at 156.10 at the close. Meanwhile, McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) added 0.80% or 1.15 points to end at 145.36 and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) was up 0.68% or 0.63 points to 92.73 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), which fell 2.08% or 0.60 points to trade at 28.27 at the close. Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) declined 1.33% or 0.86 points to end at 63.57 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was down 0.87% or 1.51 points to 171.81.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) which rose 2.50% to 125.29, Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) which was up 2.41% to settle at 7.66 and Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO) which gained 2.08% to close at 235.90.
The worst performers were Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) which was down 10.84% to 41.20 in late trade, Acuity Brands Inc (NYSE:AYI) which lost 8.03% to settle at 173.43 and Urban Outfitters Inc (NASDAQ:URBN) which was down 6.08% to 21.61 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD) which rose 30.11% to 51.90, NantKwest (NASDAQ:NK) which was up 25.16% to settle at 3.98 and Tantech Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:TANH) which gained 24.71% to close at 2.31.
The worst performers were Capricor Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CAPR) which was down 61.97% to 1.1600 in late trade, Dextera Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:DXTR) which lost 47.46% to settle at 0.2212 and Cellular Bi (NASDAQ:CBMG) which was down 45.64% to 5.30 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1775 to 1412 and 46 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1510 fell and 1004 advanced, while 112 ended unchanged.
Shares in Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) rose to 52-week highs; rising 2.50% or 3.06 to 125.29. Shares in Broadcom Ltd (NASDAQ:AVGO) rose to all time highs; up 2.08% or 4.81 to 235.90. Shares in Urban Outfitters Inc (NASDAQ:URBN) fell to 52-week lows; down 6.08% or 1.40 to 21.61. Shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.40% or 2.15 to 156.10. Shares in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) fell to 52-week lows; falling 2.08% or 0.60 to 28.27. Shares in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) rose to all time highs; gaining 0.80% or 1.15 to 145.36. Shares in Visa Inc (NYSE:V) rose to all time highs; rising 0.68% or 0.63 to 92.73. Shares in Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD) rose to all time highs; gaining 30.11% or 12.01 to 51.90. Shares in Capricor Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CAPR) fell to all time lows; losing 61.97% or 1.8900 to 1.1600. Shares in Dextera Surgical Inc (NASDAQ:DXTR) fell to all time lows; falling 47.46% or 0.1998 to 0.2212. Shares in Cellular Bi (NASDAQ:CBMG) fell to 52-week lows; losing 45.64% or 4.45 to 5.30.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.89% to 10.40.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.32% or 3.95 to $1228.15 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 0.13% or 0.06 to hit $47.89 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 0.22% or 0.11 to trade at $50.88 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.64% to 1.0931, while USD/JPY fell 0.50% to 113.30.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.47% at 99.06.
See also Dow and S&P close negative amid concerns of slowdown in retail sector.
Read additional news from Reuters at Investing.com.
The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies on Friday, after weaker than expected inflation and retail sales data weighed on sentiment amid ongoing political turmoil in Washington.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.34% to 99.19 by 12:48 EDT.
A slowdown in retail sales and stuttering core consumer inflation in April poured cold water on expectations for a strong economic rebound in the second quarter of the year.
Core Retail Sales, an important indicator used to gauge the strength of the U.S. economy, increased by 0.3% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.5% rise.
Elsewhere, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.2% after a 0.3% drop in March, which was the biggest fall in more than two years.
The slowdown in retail sales and inflation failed to dampened investors’ expectations that the Federal Reserve was set to hike its benchmark rate in June, after Philadelphia Fed president Patrick Harker said on Friday “things are looking pretty good” for the U.S. economy and reiterated his view that two more rate hikes are appropriate this year.
According to investing.com’s Fed rate monitor tool, 70% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in June, compared to 63% in the previous week.
EUR/USD traded at $1.0920, up 0.53% while EUR/GBP gained 0.66% to 0.8485.
GBP/USD slipped to $1.2866, down 0.16%, after the Bank of England on Thursday left interests rate unchanged and signalled that interest rates are unlikely to rise within the next two years.
USD/JPY fell by 0.43% to 113.93, while USD/CAD added 0.17% to $1.3722.
See also Forex – Dollar pushes lower on downbeat U.S. data.
This week speculators were turned bullish on the euro and became less bullish on oil, the S&P 500, and the Aussie $.
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 higher on Friday, after weaker than expected inflation and core retail sales data weighed on the dollar and lifted sentiment for the yellow metal.
Gold for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $3.63 or 0.30%, to $1,227.88 a troy ounce by 13:31 EDT.
Gold futures were on track to snap a three-week losing streak, after a softer batch of economic data eased risk-on sentiment, pushing the dollar and US treasuries lower.
Core Retail Sales, an important indicator used to gauge the strength of the U.S. economy, increased by 0.3% last month, compared to expectations for a 0.5% rise.
Elsewhere, the Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.2% after a 0.3% drop in March, which was the biggest fall in more than two years.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.34% to 99.19.
Dollar-denominated assets such as gold are sensitive to moves in the dollar – A dip in the dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency and thus, increases demand.
The U.S. 10-Year slipped 2.87% to 2.331, however, investors remained optimistic that the Federal Reserve will increase its benchmark rate in June.
According to investing.com’s fed rate monitor tool, 70% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates in June, compared to 63% in the previous week.
Gold is sensitive to changes in US interest rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metals trading, silver futures rose 0.90% to $16.412 a troy ounce while platinum added 0.10% to trade at $918.60,
Copper gained 0.64% to $2.524 while natural gas traded at $3.421, up 1.30%.
Crude futures settled above breakeven on Friday, as investors appeared to take profit from the two-day rally in oil prices while the number of active U.S. drilling rigs rose for a seventeenth straight week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery gained 1 cent to settle at $47.84 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent added 8 cents to trade at $50.85 a barrel.
Investors turned attention to U.S. oil output, after oilfield services firm, Baker Hughes, reported its weekly U.S. rig count rose by 9 to 712.
Concerns over U.S. crude output eased earlier this week, after the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, that crude oil inventories fell by 5.25 million barrels, well above expectations of a draw of 1.79 million barrels.
Despite the drop in U.S. crude inventories, overall sentiment remained bearish, as OPEC’s monthly report released Thursday, showed U.S. production accounted for around 93%, roughly 540,000 barrels of total non-OPEC growth in April.
Oil prices settled positive for the week, after dropping more than 5% on Monday, as a strong rally ensued later during the week, following bullish comments from oil ministers on a possible extension of the supply-cut agreement.
Algeria and Iran said on Thursday, that they would support a deal extension.
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 production began in January this year for a period of six-months until June.
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.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures added to gains on Thursday, rising to the strongest level in around 15 weeks after data showed that natural gas supplies in storage in the U.S. rose less than expected last week.
U.S. natural gas for June delivery gained 8.0 cents, or around 2.4%, to $3.372 per million British thermal units by 10:35AM ET (14:35GMT). It touched a daily peak of $3.388, a level not seen since January 27. Futures were at around $3.335 prior to the release of the supply data.
Prices of the heating fuel rallied 6.5 cents on Wednesday.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. rose by 45 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 5, below forecasts for a build of 53 billion.
That compared with a gain of 67 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, an increase of 68 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 73 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.301 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 13.9% lower than levels at this time a year ago but 12.0% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, cool conditions are expected to linger over the northeastern U.S. through early next week, according to forecasters at NatGasWeather.com.
A weather system tracking across the Southwest toward Texas will bring showers, but still with mostly comfortable temperatures as highs reach the 60s and 70s.
Over the West, warm conditions will give way to cooling this weekend as Pacific systems return.
Overall, natural gas demand will remain stronger than normal, mainly driven primarily by the cooler than normal northeastern U.S.
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.
