Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.21%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Goods, Consumer Services and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.21%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.44%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.55%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were NikeInc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 4.84% or 3.10 points to trade at 67.21 at the close. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) added 2.05% or 5.15 points to end at 256.12 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 1.51% or 3.00 points to 201.33 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which fell 3.99% or 6.75 points to trade at 162.37 at the close. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) declined 3.04% or 0.51 points to end at 16.26 andAmerican Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 1.83% or 1.83 points to 98.03.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) which rose 5.97% to 16.14, Hanesbrands Inc (NYSE:HBI) which was up 5.45% to settle at 23.20 and Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) which gained 4.84% to close at 67.21.
The worst performers were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) which was down 3.99% to 162.37 in late trade, CBS Corporation (NYSE:CBS) which lost 3.75% to settle at 57.75 and McCormick & Company Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) which was down 3.61% to 99.19 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Forward Industries Inc (NASDAQ:FORD) which rose 137.90% to 2.950, NuCana PLC (NASDAQ:NCNA) which was up 41.55% to settle at 20.51 and New Age Beverages Corp (NASDAQ:NBEV) which gained 22.50% to close at 3.92.
The worst performers were PAVmed Inc (NASDAQ:PAVM) which was down 28.02% to 1.83 in late trade, Argos Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ARGS) which lost 19.51% to settle at 2.17 and Heat Biologics Inc (NASDAQ:HTBX) which was down 15.00% to 0.340 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2073 to 1013 and 132 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1804 rose and 740 declined, while 110 ended unchanged.
Shares in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) rose to all time highs; up 4.84% or 3.10 to 67.21. Shares in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) rose to all time highs; gaining 4.84% or 3.10 to 67.21. Shares in General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) fell to 5-year lows; down 3.04% or 0.51 to 16.26. Shares in Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.51% or 3.00 to 201.33. Shares in Forward Industries Inc (NASDAQ:FORD) rose to 5-year highs; rising 137.90% or 1.710 to 2.950. Shares in PAVmed Inc (NASDAQ:PAVM) fell to all time lows; down 28.02% or 0.71 to 1.83. Shares in NuCana PLC (NASDAQ:NCNA) rose to all time highs; gaining 41.55% or 6.02 to 20.51. Shares in Heat Biologics Inc (NASDAQ:HTBX) fell to all time lows; losing 15.00% or 0.060 to 0.340.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 7.60% to 11.30.
Gold Futures for February delivery was up 0.29% or 3.90 to $1331.10 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in February fell 0.67% or 0.43 to hit $63.52 a barrel, while the March Brent oil contract fell 0.84% or 0.58 to trade at $68.73 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.18% to 1.2216, while USD/JPY fell 0.23% to 110.84.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.20% at 90.49.
See also:
Mexico stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC down 0.43%
Canada stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite up 0.45%
Weekly ETF Gainers / Losers (1/19/18) (Seeking Alpha)
The dollar eased from session lows against a basket of major currencies amid reports that president Donald Trump invited Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer to work out a deal to avoid a government shutdown.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.14% to 90.36.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will go to the White House on Friday to meet with President Donald Trump about a possible deal to avoid a government shutdown, CNBC reported, citing a source familiar with the meeting.
The dollar failed to advance on the news, however, as earlier reports suggested that Democrats and a small contingent of Republicans could block a stopgap bill passed Thursday forcing the government into shutdown.
The University of Michigan’s survey of consumer attitudes for January fell to 94.4, missing economists’ forecasts for a reading of 97. While one-year inflation expectations rose 2.8% in January from 2.7% in December, and five-year inflation expectations grew 2.5% from 2.4%.
Action Economics said it expects to see “an upward revision in late-January,” this should narrow the gap to others surveys which have indicated higher readings of consumer consumer confidence.
Sterling and the euro, meanwhile, bucked their recent trend higher against the greenback as both currencies came under pressure.
GBP/USD fell 0.30% to $1.3855 as retail sales data fell short of estimates.
EUR/USD fell 0.11% to $1.224 amid reports that the European Central Bank (ECB) could extend its net asset purchases programme (APP) through the end of the year amid ongoing discussion among ECB policymakers on how best to end its stimulus programme.
USD/CAD rose 0.39% to C$1.2405, while USD/JPY fell 0.45% to Y110.61.
Crude oil net longs are at an all-time high; Speculators are less bullish on the euro and more bullish on the S&P 500.
Note: The data is for the week ending on Tuesday 16 January so the last three days of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices traded close to four-month high amid US government shutdown fears but rising US yields capped upside momentum.
Gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $6, or 0.45%, to $1,333.20 a troy ounce.
The prospect of a government shutdown stoked support for safe-haven demand, lifting gold prices near four-month highs but gains were capped amid a rise in treasury yields, and reports suggesting that president Donald Trump invited Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer to the White House to work out a deal to avoid a government shutdown.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will go to the White House on Friday to meet with President Donald Trump about a possible deal to avoid a government shutdown, CNBC reported, citing a source familiar with the meeting.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
The fall in gold comes amid comments from Macquarie warning that the risks of a reversal in gold prices are rising, as it is “harder for gold to ignore the impressive snapback in real yields” since the turn of the year.
The bank said $1,320 to $1,325 is the support zone for gold prices, adding that the market will likely find buyers around these levels.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 0.51% to $17.04 a troy ounce, while platinum futures rose 1.11% to $1,018.40.
Copper fell 0.41% to $3.19, while natural gas fell 0.06% to $3.19.
Crude oil prices settled sharply lower on Friday as signs of tightening global supplies were offset by rising US production.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for January delivery fell 58 cents to settle at $63.37 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent lost 1.04% to trade at $68.59 a barrel.
Crude oil prices snapped a four-week winning streak as investors weighed the impact of rising US production on OPEC’s efforts to rid the market of excess supplies. The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its monthly report, warned that rising non-OPEC production would offset a raft of positive factors supporting oil prices including ongoing OPEC output cuts.
The IEA said:
“Given Venezuela’s astonishing debt and deteriorating oil network, it is possible that declines this year will be even steeper. Explosive growth in the U.S. and substantial gains in Canada and Brazil will far outweigh potentially steep declines in Venezuela and Mexico.”
Fears over rising US production comes as data this week showed the number of US rigs drilling for oil fell, while US production rose sharply, which offset a decline in US crude oil supplies for the ninth-straight week.
The number of oil rigs operating in the U.S. rose by 5 to 747, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes. U.S. crude production rose by 258,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.75 million barrels per day last week, the Energy Information Agency (EIA) reported Thursday, while inventories of U.S. crude fell by roughly 6.86 million barrels, beating expectations for of a draw of 3.54 million barrels.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
Natural gas futures declined on Thursday, falling to the lowest levels of the session after data showed that domestic supplies in storage fell less than forecast last week.
Front-month U.S. natural gas futures sank 9.3 cents, or around 2.9%, to $3.139 per million British thermal units (btu) by 10:43AM ET (1543GMT). Futures were at around $3.191 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. fell by 183 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended Jan. 12, below forecasts for a withdrawal of 199 bcf.
That compared with a whopping decline of 359 bcf in the preceding week, which was the highest on record, a fall of 243 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average drop of 203 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 2.584 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That figure is 368 bcf, or around 12.5%, lower than levels at this time a year ago and 362 bcf, or roughly 12.3%, below the five-year average for this time of year.
U.S. gas futures rallied 3.3% on Wednesday to their strongest level since mid-May, as below freezing temperatures across most parts of the U.S. Northeast boosted heating-demand expectations.
Natural gas prices typically rise during the winter months as colder weather sparks indoor-heating demand. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
