Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.13%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Basic Materials, Technology and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.09%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.22%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were American Express Company (NYSE:AXP), which rose 1.36% or 1.25 points to trade at 92.86 at the close. Meanwhile, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) added 1.22% or 0.48 points to end at 39.67 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 0.97% or 0.89 points to 93.04 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which fell 1.01% or 0.49 points to trade at 47.86 at the close. Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) declined 0.69% or 0.44 points to end at 63.39 and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) was down 0.53% or 1.27 points to 238.53.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) which rose 6.42% to 21.71, Viacom B Inc (NASDAQ:VIAB) which was up 5.82% to settle at 26.00 and Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS) which gained 4.87% to close at 230.86.
The worst performers were Pacific Gas & Electric Co (NYSE:PCG) which was down 10.51% to 57.72 in late trade, Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) which lost 4.15% to settle at 33.29 and JB Hunt Transport Services Inc (NASDAQ:JBHT) which was down 4.01% to 104.01 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Leading Brands Inc (NASDAQ:LBIX) which rose 68.15% to 2.270, China Lending Corp (NASDAQ:CLDC) which was up 42.75% to settle at 5.14 and Net Element Inc (NASDAQ:NETE) which gained 29.56% to close at 5.2600.
The worst performers were Antares Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:ATRS) which was down 37.80% to 2.320 in late trade, Tandem Diabetes Care Inc (NASDAQ:TNDM) which lost 36.11% to settle at 2.99 and Casi Pharma (NASDAQ:CASI) which was down 25.27% to 2.7200 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1800 to 1265 and 143 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1359 fell and 1147 advanced, while 139 ended unchanged.
Shares in HP Inc (NYSE:HPQ) rose to 5-year highs; up 6.42% or 1.31 to 21.71. Shares in Pacific Gas & Electric Co (NYSE:PCG) fell to 52-week lows; down 10.51% or 6.78 to 57.72. Shares in Mallinckrodt (NYSE:MNK) fell to all time lows; down 4.15% or 1.44 to 33.29. Shares in American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) rose to 52-week highs; rising 1.36% or 1.25 to 92.86. Shares in Leading Brands Inc (NASDAQ:LBIX) rose to 52-week highs; up 68.15% or 0.920 to 2.270. Shares in Tandem Diabetes Care Inc (NASDAQ:TNDM) fell to all time lows; falling 36.11% or 1.69 to 2.99.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.33% to 9.58.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.71% or 9.18 to $1305.68 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.54% or 0.78 to hit $51.38 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 1.64% or 0.92 to trade at $57.17 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.05% to 1.1825, while USD/JPY fell 0.37% to 111.88.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.04% at 92.90.
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The dollar fell against a basket of major currencies on Friday after inflation data undershot expectations threatening the outlook for a December rate increase.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.14% to 92.81.
The Labor Department said on Friday its Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% last month after advancing 0.4% in August. That missed economists forecast of a 0.6% rise.
The slowdown in inflation lowered expectations for a December rate hike amid recent comments from Fed officials urging the central bank to hold off additional rate increases until the trend of slowing inflation subsided.
Louis Fed President James Bullard warned on Thursday that the central bank should stop raising rates until the pace of inflation improves.
“If you are going to have an inflation target you should defend it. If you say you are going to hit the inflation target then you should try to hit it and maintain credibility,” Bullard said in an interview with Reuters.
Some analysts, however, were quick to downplay the softer inflation data in the wake of recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
“What’s weighing on the dollar is the softer core inflation data,” said Viraj Patel, FX strategist at ING, adding that the headline data were expected to be distorted by the effect of the hurricanes that hit the U.S. in September.
Meanwhile, retail sales rose 1.6%, their biggest gain since 2015, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Economists had expected a 1.7% increase.
Also weighing on the dollar was a surge in the pound to a nearly two-week high following a slump in the previous session after Brexit negotiators declared talks between the UK and the European Union had reached a deadlock.
GBP/USD rose 0.29% to $1.3302.
EUR/USD gained 0.08% to $1.1840, while EUR/GBP lost 0.21% to £0.8901.
USD/CAD added on 0.32% to C$1.2519, while USD/JPY fell 0.34% to Y111.90.
Speculators drove net long positions on the euro to 6-year highs and net shorts on the Japanese yen to 6-month highs. Bullishness increased for the S&P 500.
Note: This data is for the week ending on Tuesday 10 October so the last three days of trading is not reflected.
Gold prices surged above $1300 on Friday supported by a dip in the dollar following inflation data that fell short of expectations sparking uncertainty about the outlook for tighter monetary policy.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $6.86, or 0.54%, to $1,303.40 a troy ounce.
Gold prices were on track to snap a four-week losing streak befitting from a weaker dollar and a dip in treasury yields amid data showing inflation remained subdued last month.
The Labor Department said on Friday its Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% last month after advancing 0.4% in August. That missed economists forecast of a 0.6% rise.
Peter Spina, president and chief executive officer of GoldSeek.com said:
“The market is questioning the future rate increase amounts and thus the stage is being set up for a much larger gold rally in the months to year ahead.”
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
Also supporting gold prices was an uptick in geopolitical uncertainty after North Korea issued fresh threats to attack the U.S. military base at Guam. North Korean researcher, Kim Kwang-hak told the North’s official Korean Central News Agency on Friday:
“We have already warned several times that we will take counteractions for self-defense, including a salvo of missiles into waters near the U.S. territory of Guam.”
In other metals trading, silver futures rose 0.83% to $17.41 while platinum futures rose 0.73% to $948.70.
Copper traded at $3.13, up 0.32%, while natural gas, rose by 0.80% to $3.01.
Crude oil prices settled higher on signs of bullish Chinese demand while geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East raised the threat of supply disruptions.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for November delivery rose 1.7% to settle at $51.45 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent added 63 cents to trade at $56.88 a barrel.
Chinese crude imports rose by roughly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) to 9 million bpd in September, data showed on Friday. That eased investor concerns that global demand is set to weaken over the next year.
The International Agency Energy (EIA) on Thursday suggested that global demand for oil in 2018 could come under pressure forecasting demand for Opec oil to fall to 32.5 million bpd next year – roughly 150,000 bpd lower than the group pumped last month.
Also supporting an uptick in crude oil prices were concerns that political uncertainty in Iran and Iraq could lead to supply disruptions.
As was expected, President Donald Trump on Friday decided against certifying the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, raising the risk of doing business in the Middle Eastern nation.
Under the agreement, Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear programme for at least 10 years in exchange for lighter economic sanctions that had crippled its economy.
Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor ongoing unrest in Iraq as the fallout over an independence referendum in Iraq’s Kurdistan region threatens to disrupt the operation of a pipeline that carries 500,000-600,000 barrels of crude per day.
In the U.S., oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said Friday its weekly count of oil rigs operating in the United States fell by 5 to 743.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
No report this week.
