Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.38%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Technology, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.38%, while the S&P 500 index gained 1.49%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 1.44%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were NikeInc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 4.80% or 3.00 points to trade at 65.49 at the close. Meanwhile, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) added 3.83% or 3.38 points to end at 91.72 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 3.73% or 3.17 points to 88.18 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), which fell 1.92% or 2.45 points to trade at 125.03 at the close. Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) declined 0.65% or 0.65 points to end at 99.37 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was down 0.37% or 0.30 points to 79.92.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT) which rose 7.94% to 17.27, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) which was up 6.69% to settle at 232.08 and Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ:DLTR) which gained 5.95% to close at 107.62.
The worst performers were Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) which was down 15.47% to 104.00 in late trade, TripAdvisor Inc (NASDAQ:TRIP) which lost 4.34% to settle at 38.31 and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) which was down 3.97% to 255.46 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were TrovaGene Inc(NASDAQ:TROV) which rose 24.47% to 0.398, Inpixon (NASDAQ:INPX) which was up 21.64% to settle at 3.7100 and Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PIRS) which gained 20.14% to close at 8.590.
The worst performers were Cenveo Inc (NASDAQ:CVO) which was down 28.85% to 0.235 in late trade, Aytu BioScience Inc (NASDAQ:AYTU) which lost 27.40% to settle at 2.0000 and Tandem Diabetes Care Inc (NASDAQ:TNDM) which was down 19.52% to 2.35 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1787 to 1347 and 97 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1489 rose and 1079 declined, while 94 ended unchanged.
Shares in Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE) fell to 52-week lows; falling 15.47% or 19.03 to 104.00. Shares in Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) fell to 5-year lows; losing 3.97% or 10.55 to 255.46. Shares in Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) fell to 52-week lows; down 0.37% or 0.30 to 79.92. Shares in Cenveo Inc (NASDAQ:CVO) fell to all time lows; losing 28.85% or 0.095 to 0.235. Shares in Aytu BioScience Inc (NASDAQ:AYTU) fell to all time lows; losing 27.40% or 0.7550 to 2.0000. Shares in Pieris Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PIRS) rose to all time highs; rising 20.14% or 1.440 to 8.590.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 13.54% to 28.93.
Gold Futures for April delivery was down 0.10% or 1.30 to $1317.70 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in March fell 3.14% or 1.92 to hit $59.23 a barrel, while the April Brent oil contract fell 3.12% or 2.02 to trade at $62.79 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.03% to 1.2243, while USD/JPY rose 0.06% to 108.80.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.09% at 90.27.
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The dollar traded higher against a basket of major currencies underpinned by a tumble in sterling after EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier threatened to scrap plans for deal on a transitional period.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.25% to 90.44. The dollar was set to record its biggest weekly gain in more than a year.
GBP/USD fell 0.93% to $1.3784.
Sterling came under heavy pressure as a planned meeting to discuss the UK’s future relations with the EU was cancelled reportedly due to “diary constraints.” Negative sentiment on sterling intensified as Barnier appeared to take a tough stance on Brexit negotiations, demanding that the UK apply new EU Rules in a possible transition period. Barnier said of the transitional deal:
“The U.K. asked for this period. If we maintain the economic status quo, we maintain the integrity of the single market and the application of the rules that are in place to all those who benefit from it.”
Brexit related developments are expected to continue to dominate direction in sterling. Action Economics said it expects that the backdrop of how Brexit evolves together with the action of other central banks concerning monetary policy will be key for sterling direction.
EUR/USD fell 0.27% to $1.2214, while USD/CAD gained 0.17% to C$1.2626 as the loonie came under pressure following data showing Canada’s labour force dropped by 88,000, the most on record.
USD/JPY fell 0.41% to Y108.28 as investors piled continued to pile into safe-haven yen amid risk-off sentiment.
Crude oil and S&P 500 net longs are at all-time highs; Speculators are less bullish on gold and silver.
Note: The data is for the week ending on Tuesday 06 February so the last three days of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices traded lower as the dollar headed for its biggest weekly gain in more than a year but losses in the precious metal were limited as yields retreated from four-year highs.
Gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $2.30, or 0.17%, to $1,317.10 a troy ounce.
Gold prices were set for their second weekly drop in a row, pressured by a sharp recovery in the dollar and expectations that global central banks were poised to initiate a shift away from ultra-loose monetary policy measures.
The Bank of England stood pat on interest rates Thursday but signalled that rate hikes could be needed earlier than expected as the rapid pace of inflation continued. Offsetting the prospect of tighter monetary policy, however, was the ongoing rout in global stock markets, triggering safe-haven demand, as more than $6 trillion in stock market capitalization was lost so far this week.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 0.92% to $16.20 a troy ounce, while platinum futures 1.61% to $962.60.
Copper fell 1.65% to $3.03, while natural gas fell 4.23% to $2.58.
Crude oil prices settled lower as data showed the number of US oil rigs surged to a 34 month high, stoking investor fears for a ramp up in domestic production.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for March delivery fell 3.19% cents to settle at $59.20 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brentlost 3.56% to trade at $62.50 a barrel.
The number of oil rigs operating in the US rose by 26 to 791, the highest level since April 2, 2015, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes.
That deepened investor fears that rising US oil output would offset major oil producers’ efforts – as part of the production-cut agreement – to rid the market of excess oil stockpiles.
The rise in US oil rigs comes just two days after the Energy Information Administration released Wednesday its weekly inventory totals showing both US crude and output rose.
Inventories of U.S. crude rose 1.895 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 2, below expectations for for a rise of 3.189 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.
The build in crude this week comes amid a slowdown in refinery activity as refiners entered a period of maintenance, which typically lessens demand for crude oil.
EIA’s preliminary figures on Wednesday showed weekly U.S. production hit 10.25 million barrels a day. That level brings the US closer to world’s top producers Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Natural Gas (Thursday Report)
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. fell by 119 billion cubic feet in the week ended February 2, while analysts had forecast a decline of 116 billion.
That compared with a draw of 99 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the preceding week and represented a decline of 503 billion from a year earlier and was also 393 bcf below the five-year average.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 2.078 trillion cubic feet, 19.5% lower than levels at this time a year ago and also 15.9% below the five-year average for this time of year.
After the report, prices initially spiked in a knee-jerk reaction. However, by 10:36AM ET (15:36GMT) natural gas for delivery in March on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 2.3 cents, or about 0.9%, to trade at $2.725 per million British thermal units.
Futures had been rising by 3.6 cents, or about 1.3%, at $2.738 prior to the release of the supply data.
The commodity has been on the backfoot this week after weather forecasts showed that temperatures across key parts of the U.S. won’t be as cold as previously expected.
Updated weather forecasting models showed that temperatures won’t be as cold as previously expected through both the upcoming six- to 10-day and eight- to 14-day periods.
Bearish speculators are betting that the mild weather will reduce winter demand for the heating fuel. The heating season from November through March is the peak demand period for U.S. gas consumption.
