Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.37%
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Telecoms, Healthcare and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher while losses in the Technology, Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.37% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.17%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.03%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which rose 3.01% or 1.42 points to trade at 48.62 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 2.81% or 1.63 points to end at 59.69 and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) was up 1.96% or 4.57 points to 238.28 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), which fell 0.80% or 0.37 points to trade at 45.93 at the close. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) declined 0.61% or 0.09 points to end at 14.60 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) was down 0.56% or 0.31 points to 54.67.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) which rose 6.24% to 306.94, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which was up 3.28% to settle at 155.97 and CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS) which gained 3.15% to close at 64.41.
The worst performers were Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) which was down 33.10% to 19.52 in late trade, Flowserve Corporation (NYSE:FLS) which lost 9.09% to settle at 43.53 and News Corp A (NASDAQ:NWSA) which was down 8.50% to 15.18 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD) which rose 43.39% to 75.61, Turtle Beach Corp (NASDAQ:HEAR) which was up 40.37% to settle at 16.030 and Boxlight Corp Class A (NASDAQ:BOXL) which gained 29.50% to close at 6.67.
The worst performers were Stellar Biotechnologies Inc (NASDAQ:SBOT) which was down 41.24% to 2.280 in late trade, Obalon Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:OBLN) which lost 34.03% to settle at 2.85 and Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) which was down 33.10% to 19.52 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1675 to 1370 and 146 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1361 rose and 1182 declined, while 140 ended unchanged.
Shares in Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) fell to 52-week lows; down 33.10% or 9.66 to 19.52. Shares in Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD) rose to all time highs; up 43.39% or 22.88 to 75.61. Shares in Stellar Biotechnologies Inc (NASDAQ:SBOT) fell to 3-years lows; falling 41.24% or 1.600 to 2.280. Shares in Turtle Beach Corp (NASDAQ:HEAR) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 40.37% or 4.610 to 16.030. Shares in Obalon Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:OBLN) fell to all time lows; falling 34.03% or 1.47 to 2.85. Shares in Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) fell to 52-week lows; down 33.10% or 9.66 to 19.52.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 3.55% to 12.76 a new 3-months low.
Gold Futures for June delivery was down 0.21% or 2.80 to $1319.50 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June fell 1.09% or 0.78 to hit $70.58 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract fell 0.57% or 0.44 to trade at $77.03 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.25% to 1.1945, while USD/JPY fell 0.07% to 109.31.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.17% at 92.41.
See also:
Canada stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite up 0.15%
Mexico stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC up 0.38%
The dollar fell against its rivals on Friday as traders appeared to take profit on its recent rally, while gains in the euro limited upside momentum.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.26% to 92.33.
Upbeat economic data did little to support sentiment on the dollar, which remained on track to post its first weekly slump in four weeks despite hitting a year-to-date high of 93.26 on Wednesday.
Michigan’s preliminary consumer expectations rose to a reading of 89.5 for May, while consumer sentiment is rose to a reading of 98.8, beating economists’ forecasts.
Some analysts warned earlier this week the run-up in the dollar would come under pressure as there was limited room for further update.
ING said it remained convinced that by the end of the year – and into 2019 – “structural forces” would drive the dollar to levels weaker than where it currently trades.
The divergence between US growth and interest rates compared to the rest of the world – one of the reasons for the recent dollar rally – was nearing its peak, the bank warned.
GBP/USD rose 0.18% to $1.3544 as it continued pare some of its losses, which had followed the Bank of England’s dovish remarks on Thursday.
EUR/USD added 0.30% to $1.1952, while USD/JPY 0.12% to Y109.26.
USD/CAD fell 0.10% as weaker Canadian labor market and falling oil prices, supported the pair.
Commitments of Traders (Report for week ending 24 April)
This week speculators were less bullish on the euro, oil, gold, and the pound sterling. Bullishness increased for silver and copper.
Note: The data is for the week ending on Tuesday 24 April so the last 15 days of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices were roughly unchanged on Friday but looked set to post a first weekly gain in four weeks as dollar weakness continued following a recent bout of softer inflation data.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $0.80 or 0.06%, to $1,321.40 a troy ounce.
Weaker inflation data seen earlier this week continued to drive direction, prompting traders to scale back their expectations for a faster pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes, pressuring both the 10-yield treasury and the dollar, underpinning gold prices.
“The inflation threat is simply not materializing. This will take some wind out of the remaining Fed hawk’s sails and put some of those rate hikes on the horizon in jeopardy,” Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi said on Thursday.
Gold is sensitive to moves lower in both bond yields and the U.S. dollar – A weaker dollar makes gold cheaper for holders of foreign currency. While a fall in U.S. bond yields, limits the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 0.05% to $16.75 a troy ounce, while platinum futures added 0.08% to $925.80 an ounce.
Copper was flat to $3.110.
Crude oil prices settled lower on Friday but posted a weekly gain as sentiment remained positive despite signs of an increase in U.S. production as rig counts jumped for the sixth week in a row.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery fell 66 cents to settle at $70.70 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent fell 0.54% to trade at $77.05 a barrel.
The number of oil rigs operating in the US rose by 10 to 844, its highest level since March 20, 2015, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes.
The uptick in rig counts raised expectations for a further ramp in U.S. output following data earlier this week showing domestic output climbed by 84,000 barrels per day to 10.7 million barrels per day.
Yet, sentiment on oil prices remained mostly positive as the United States’ decision to pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal on Tuesday, prompted traders to raise their bets on a fall in global crude supplies.
U.S. sanctions against Iranian crude oil customers are expected to commence on Nov. 5. But some countries could be granted relief on sanctions should they make significant cuts to their imports of Iranian oil over the next six months, the Treasury Department said earlier this week.
A six-month loss of 250,000 barrels of oil per day of Iran supply could support oil prices by $6.50 per barrel if other OPEC members do not respond to offset it, Goldman Sachs said earlier this week.
Iran-Israel tensions grew in the wake of the United States’ decision as the duo exchanged missiles earlier this week, adding a further premium to oil prices. Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn said on Thursday:
“This backdrop of increasingly high tensions in the Middle East are even more supportive as US oil inventory shows big drops in supply against robust and near record-breaking demand.”
Natural Gas (Thursday report)
Natural gas futures were higher on Thursday, reaching their strongest levels of the session following the release of weekly storage data.
Front-month U.S. natural gas futures jumped 5.3 cents, or around 1.9%, to $2.789 per million British thermal units (btu) by 10:44AM ET (1444GMT). Futures were at around $2.757 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 89 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the week ended May 4, compared to forecasts for a gain of 81 bcf.
It was the second straight build of the storage injection season.
That compared with a build of 62 bcf in the preceding week, an increase of 45 bcf a year earlier and a five-year average rise of 75 bcf.
Total natural gas in storage currently stands at 1.432 trillion cubic feet (tcf), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
That figure is 863 bcf, or around 37.6%, lower than levels at this time a year ago, and 520 bcf, or roughly 26.6%, below the five-year average for this time of year.
Market experts warned that futures are likely to remain vulnerable amid speculation the start of spring will bring warmer temperatures throughout the U.S. and cut into demand for the fuel.
Spring usually sees the weakest demand for natural gas in the U.S, as the absence of extreme temperatures curbs demand for heating and air conditioning.
See also Friday (today) report: Natural Gas Rallies for the Week but Remains Range bound (FXEmpire).
