Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.50%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Financials, Consumer Services and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.50%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.29%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.47%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average wereGeneral Electric Company (NYSE:GE), which rose 2.35% or 0.31 points to trade at 13.49 at the close. Meanwhile, Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) added 1.09% or 0.48 points to end at 44.51 and Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) was up 0.80% or 0.62 points to 77.84 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM), which fell 2.71% or 3.07 points to trade at 110.30 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 2.43% or 8.20 points to end at 329.28 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was down 1.63% or 0.86 points to 51.86.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Alaska Air Group Inc (NYSE:ALK) which rose 6.11% to 63.95, F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) which was up 4.48% to settle at 155.00 and Concho Resources Inc (NYSE:CXO) which gained 3.21% to close at 151.02.
The worst performers were PNC Financial Services Group Inc (NYSE:PNC) which was down 4.14% to 145.46 in late trade, Under Armour Inc C (NYSE:UA) which lost 4.34% to settle at 14.340 and Advance Auto Parts Inc (NYSE:AAP) which was down 3.58% to 106.61 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Future Fintech Group Inc (NASDAQ:FTFT) which rose 26.90% to 2.5000, Turtle Beach Corp (NASDAQ:HEAR) which was up 26.54% to settle at 3.910 and Burcon Nutrascience Corp (NASDAQ:BUR) which gained 18.03% to close at 0.552.
The worst performers were Sphere 3D Corp (NASDAQ:ANY) which was down 43.55% to 0.621 in late trade, SemiLEDS Corporation (NASDAQ:LEDS) which lost 29.09% to settle at 3.9000 and Valeritas Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VLRX) which was down 22.03% to 1.42 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1723 to 1331 and 142 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1550 fell and 969 advanced, while 153 ended unchanged.
Shares in F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) rose to all time highs; rising 4.48% or 6.65 to 155.00. Shares in Sphere 3D Corp (NASDAQ:ANY) fell to all time lows; losing 43.55% or 0.479 to 0.621. Shares in Turtle Beach Corp (NASDAQ:HEAR) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 26.54% or 0.820 to 3.910. Shares in Valeritas Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:VLRX) fell to all time lows; falling 22.03% or 0.40 to 1.42.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.79% to 17.42.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.45% or 6.00 to $1347.90 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in May rose 0.31% or 0.21 to hit $67.28 a barrel, while the June Brent oil contract rose 0.58% or 0.42 to trade at $72.44 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.08% to 1.2337, while USD/JPY rose 0.04% to 107.35.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.02% at 89.47.
See also:
Canada stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite up 0.29%
Mexico stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC down 0.03%
The dollar remained set for a weekly loss as it pared some of its gains against yen after the release of negative U.S. economic data and ongoing U.S.-China trade jitters.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell 0.02% to 89.46.
USD/JPY eased off session highs of Y107.78 to trade at Y107.43, up 0.11%, as traders digested weaker sentiment and jobs data, while reports that the White House plans to outline fresh tariffs attracted demand for safe-haven yen.
The White House is planning to ramp up trade pressure on China by threatening to block Chinese technology investment in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.
The U.S. Labor Department’s latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs) report, a measure of labor demand, showed job openings in February fell to about 6.0m, missing expectations of 6.11m.
The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index fell to a three-month low of 97.8 in April, undershooting economists’ forecasts of 100.6.
Hawkish comments from Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren helped lift sentiment, however, after he said the U.S. central bank may need to raise rates by more than what it currently expects.
At its most recent meeting, the Federal Reserve revealed that policymakers expect two additional rate hikes this year.
Modest gains in both the pound and euro also weighed on the dollar.
EUR/USD rose 0.11% to $1.2340, while GBP/USD rose 0.15% to $1.4249.
USD/CAD rose 0.14% to $1.2605 as the loonie struggled to turn positive against the greenback despite an ongoing rally in oil prices.
This week speculators were more bullish on the euro, oil, and the pound sterling, while becoming less bullish on gold.
Note: The data is for the week ending on Tuesday 10 April so the last three days of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices traded close to session highs supported by ongoing safe-haven demand as underlying geopolitical tensions and U.S.-China trade-war fears persisted.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $5.30, or 0.39%, to $1,347.10 a troy ounce, and remained close to session highs of $1,350.10.
The White House is planning to ramp up trade pressure on China by threatening to block Chinese technology investment in the United States, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing officials familiar with the matter.
That added to safe-haven demand, supporting an uptick in gold prices, as geopolitical tensions persisted after Russia accused the UK of staging the reported chemical attack in Syria.
Dollar weakness also supported an uptick in the gold prices, which are set to notch a second-straight weekly gain.
The dollar struggled to pare losses this week despite the Federal Reserve releasing somewhat hawkish minutes of its March meeting this week.
Dollar-denominated assets such as gold are sensitive to moves in the dollar – A fall in the dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency, raising demand for the precious metal.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 0.98% to $16.64 a troy ounce, while platinum futures fell 0.25% to $932.50 an ounce.
Copper fell 0.21 % to $3.07.
Crude oil prices settled at higher, notching their biggest weekly gain since July as rising geopolitical tensions and an ongoing decline in global inventories offset data pointing to continued U.S. oil output.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for May delivery rose 32 cents to settle at $67.39 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent gained 58 cents to trade at $72.60 a barrel.
The number of oil rigs operating in the US rose by 7 to 815, their highest level since March 20, 2015, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes.
The bearish data, however, did little to curb sentiment on oil prices after an report from the International Agency Energy showed that the glut in oil supplies has mostly diminished. The energy watchdog further stoked demand for oil, predicting that global oil supplies would likely fall below the five-year average levels in the coming months.
The bullish report came a day after OPEC said in its monthly report that total production from the group fell to the lowest since March 2017. OPEC output fell by 201,400 barrels a day last month, the most since November, to 31.96 million barrels a day, led by Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Libya.
Crude oil prices rallied 8.6% this week as traders continued to bet that rising geopolitical tensions in the oil-rich Middle East, could lead to supply disruptions, extending the rally in oil prices.
Geopolitical tensions were ratcheted up this week as U.S. President Donald Trump warned Russia to “get ready,” hinting at U.S. missile strikes on Syria. Despite, Trump backing away from his aggressive stance on Thursday, geopolitical tensions persisted, fuelling the uptick in oil prices.
Natural Gas (from FXEmpire)
Natural gas prices rebounded as warmer weather in California is buoying cooling demand. Prices increased 2% late in the trading session on Friday, after breaking out above trend line resistance that is now short-term support near 2.72. Resistance is seen near the March highs at 2.81. Momentum has turned positive as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) index generated a crossover buy signal. This occur as the MACD line (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses above the MACD signal line (the 9-day moving average of the MACD line). The RSI (relative strength index) broke out above resistance which reflects accelerating positive momentum which points to higher prices.
Natural gas consumption rises because of both heating and cooling demand
Natural gas consumption rises because of both heating and cooling demand. Total U.S. consumption of natural gas rose by 7% compared with the previous report week, according to data from the EIA. Natural gas consumed for power generation climbed by 4% week over week, as some Pacific and southern regions experienced an increase in cooling degree days. In the residential and commercial sectors, consumption increased by 14% as a result of northern regions that experienced an increase in heating degree days (HDD). Industrial sector consumption increased by 2% week over week. Natural gas exports to Mexico increased 16% with the conclusion of maintenance on Mexico’s Los Ramones pipeline, according to EIA data.
Warm temperatures in California support higher natural gas prices
Warm temperatures in California support higher natural gas prices. Prices at PG&E Citygate in Northern California rose. The price at SoCal Citygate increased last Wednesday, with a high of $3.83/MMBtu on Tuesday. Los Angeles had daily high temperatures of 95 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday and 85°F on Tuesday, supporting demand increases because of cooling needs. Parts of the Southeast also experienced higher temperatures, leading to increased cooling demand.
