Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.11%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Technology, Healthcare and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.11%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.37%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.66%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which rose 0.84% or 0.28 points to trade at 33.63 at the close. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) added 0.84% or 0.62 points to end at 74.49 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 0.74% or 1.20 points to 163.56 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which fell 1.48% or 0.78 points to trade at 51.85 at the close. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 1.03% or 0.81 points to end at 78.14 and McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) was down 0.51% or 0.81 points to 156.68.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Tyson Foods Inc (NYSE:TSN) which rose 7.64% to 70.45, Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) which was up 3.61% to settle at 39.33 andMallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which gained 3.40% to close at 37.37.
The worst performers were Scana Corporation (NYSE:SCG) which was down 4.90% to 48.49 in late trade, Arconic Inc (NYSE:ARNC) which lost 4.38% to settle at 24.88 andFrontier Communications Corp (NASDAQ:FTR) which was down 4.22% to 11.79 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Zogenix Inc (NASDAQ:ZGNX) which rose 172.23% to 35.050, root9B Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:RTNB) which was up 44.24% to settle at 2.0050 and Capricor Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:CAPR) which gained 35.87% to close at 3.0300.
The worst performers were Jaguar Health Inc (NASDAQ:JAGX) which was down 50.22% to 0.200 in late trade, Ritter Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RTTR) which lost 29.31% to settle at 0.350 and ITUS Corp (NASDAQ:ITUS) which was down 24.86% to 2.630 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1807 to 1275 and 135 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1355 rose and 1140 declined, while 136 ended unchanged.
Shares in Scana Corporation (NYSE:SCG) fell to 52-week lows; down 4.90% or 2.50 to 48.49. Shares in Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) rose to 5-year highs; gaining 3.61% or 1.37 to 39.33. Shares in Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) rose to all time highs; gaining 0.74% or 1.20 to 163.56. Shares in Zogenix Inc (NASDAQ:ZGNX) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 172.23% or 22.175 to 35.050. Shares in Jaguar Health Inc (NASDAQ:JAGX) fell to all time lows; losing 50.22% or 0.202 to 0.200. Shares in Ritter Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:RTTR) fell to all time lows; losing 29.31% or 0.145 to 0.350.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.42% to 9.51 a new 1-month low.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.48% or 6.15 to $1282.55 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 0.06% or 0.03 to hit $51.59 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract fell 0.82% or 0.47 to trade at $56.69 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.30% to 1.1822, while USD/JPY rose 0.22% to 112.55.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 92.89.
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The dollar was roughly unchanged against a basket of major currencies as data showed the trend of slowing inflation continued in August but losses in the greenback were capped by a slump in the pound after UK second-quarter economic growth undershot expectations.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.08% to 93.01.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, edged up 0.1% last month. The commerce department said Friday.
Inflation, however remained subdued, as the core personal consumption expenditures price index slowed to 1.3% in August from 1.4% in July. The core PCE is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure and has a 2 percent target.
The week inflation data weighed on the dollar, which remained on track to post a third-straight quarterly loss despite rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike rate later this year.
The reports come amid speculation surrounding the future of Janet Yellen’s position as Federal Reserve chair after both President Donald Trump and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly met with Kevin Warsh to discuss the possibility of his nomination to replace Janet Yellen.
Warsh was a Fed governor from 2006 until 2011 and was a member of former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s inner circle of advisers.
Weakness in the greenback, however, was capped by a slump in the pound amid weaker-than-expected UK economic growth data.
GBP/USD fell 0.36% to $1.3394.
EUR/USD rose to 0.13% to $1.1802 while EUR/GBP rose 0.48% to 0.8811.
USD/JPY rose 0.29% to Y112.63 while USD/CAD gained 0.47% to $1.2485.
Speculators were more bearish on the yen. Bullishness increased for oil, the euro, and the Canadian dollar.
Note: This data is for the week ending on Tuesday 26 September so the last three days of trading is not reflected.
Gold prices edged below breakeven on Friday, as weaker-than-expected inflation data did little to ease investor expectations of a year-end rate hike.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $2.61, or 0.20%, to $1,290.40 a troy ounce.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, edged up 0.1% last month. The commerce department said Friday.
Inflation, however remained subdued, as the core personal consumption expenditures price index slowed to 1.3% in August from 1.4% in July. The core PCE is the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure and has a 2 percent target.
The duo of reports failed to diminish expectations that the Fed will hike rates later this year, as expectations for a December remained unchanged at 71% compared to last week.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in both bond yields and the U.S. dollar – A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency while a rise in U.S. rates, lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
The precious metal is expected to come under pressure in the coming months amid growing rate hike expectations and renewed investor hopes for tax reform.
According to Tyler Richey, co-editor of the Sevens Report:
“A more hawkish shift in Fed policy expectations, good economic data, and optimism about tax reform are support the reflation argument, which is bad for gold prices in the months ahead.”
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 0.77% to $16.72 a troy ounce while platinum futures lost 1.03% to $916.05.
Copper traded at $2.96, down 0.91% while natural gas tacked on 0.20% to $3.02.
Crude oil prices settled higher on Friday, as investors weighed the possibility of supply disruptions in Northern Iraq against expectations that U.S. producers are poised to ramp up shale output.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for November delivery rose 11 cents to settle at $51.67 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent lost 39 cents to trade at $56.77 a barrel.
Crude prices were restricted to a narrow trading range amid ongoing political uncertainty in Iraq that threatens the operation of a key pipeline linking northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
A victory for Iraqi Kurdish voters on independence from Iraq earlier this week has fuelled fears of a possible supply disruption in the region as the vote has angered Iraq’s central government and neighboring countries including Turkey.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan on Monday warned his country could “close the valves” on the pipeline that carries 500,000-600,000 barrels of crude per day from northern Iraq to the Turkish port of Ceyhan.
Investors weighed the possibility of a supply disruption in the oil-rich region against expectations that rising crude prices will attract a boom in US shale oil output. Enrico Chiorando, an analyst at energy consultancy Love Energy, said:
“A tug-of-war is developing again, this time between the threat to supply in northern Iraq and growing output from U.S. shale. Shale production has been increasing and will continue to weigh on prices, following Brent’s longest weekly bull run since June 2016 and its fifth-consecutive weekly gain.”
Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said Friday its weekly count of oil rigs operating in the United States rose by 6 to 750.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
U.S. natural gas futures shook off earlier weakness to trade higher on Thursday, after data showed that domestic supplies in storage increased less than expected last week.
U.S. natural gas for November delivery was at $3.070 per million British thermal units by 10:43AM ET (1443GMT), up 0.9 cents, or around 0.3%. Futures were at around $3.035 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 58 billion cubic feet in the week ended Sept. 22, below forecasts for a build of 66 billion.
That compared with a gain of 97 billion cubic feet in the preceding week, a build of 49 billion a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 84 billion cubic feet.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 3.466 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, around 3.5% lower than levels at this time a year ago and mostly in line with the five-year average for this time of year.
Natural gas futures ended around 2% higher on Wednesday, boosted by bullish weather forecasts.
Warm high pressure will dominate the Great Lakes and east-central U.S. through early next week with highs of 80s and 90s, followed by cooling, as a fresh weather system arrives with showers and thunderstorms.