Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.00%
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Industrials, Healthcare and Telecoms sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Financials and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.00%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.26%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 0.38%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 2.06% or 7.09 points to trade at 351.23 at the close. Meanwhile, Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) added 1.31% or 2.02 points to end at 155.71 and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) was up 1.13% or 2.09 points to 187.42 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 2.39% or 1.31 points to trade at 53.50 at the close. JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) declined 1.62% or 1.83 points to end at 111.13 and Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) was down 1.24% or 1.60 points to 127.86.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) which rose 5.75% to 155.25, Martin Marietta Materials Inc (NYSE:MLM) which was up 2.72% to settle at 219.31 and IDEXX Laboratories Inc (NASDAQ:IDXX) which gained 2.64% to close at 200.76.
The worst performers were Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) which was down 12.37% to 34.37 in late trade, Nordstrom Inc (NYSE:JWN) which lost 10.90% to settle at 45.36 and Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) which was down 8.25% to 49.51 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Adomani Inc (NASDAQ:ADOM) which rose 80.65% to 1.12, China HGS Real Estate Inc (NASDAQ:HGSH) which was up 30.15% to settle at 1.770 and Quotient Ltd (NASDAQ:QTNT) which gained 29.00% to close at 6.05.
The worst performers were Agile Thrpe (NASDAQ:AGRX) which was down 72.40% to 0.69 in late trade, Livexlive Media Inc (NASDAQ:LIVX) which lost 28.92% to settle at 4.9400 and Carver Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:CARV) which was down 24.36% to 8.320 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1565 to 1467 and 151 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1281 rose and 1234 declined, while 154 ended unchanged.
Shares in Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) fell to 5-year lows; losing 12.37% or 4.85 to 34.37. Shares in Agile Thrpe (NASDAQ:AGRX) fell to all time lows; losing 72.40% or 1.81 to 0.69.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 0.22% to 13.40.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.19% or 2.40 to $1291.80 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June fell 0.15% or 0.11 to hit $71.38 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract fell 0.83% or 0.66 to trade at $78.64 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.25% to 1.1766, while USD/JPY rose 0.01% to 110.78.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.21% at 93.59.
See also:
Canada stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite up 0.19%
Mexico stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC down 0.26%
The dollar retreated from a fresh five-month high against a basket of major currencies as a rout of the euro eased, prompting traders to take profits on the greenback despite concerns about proposals laid out by a future Italian coalition government.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose 0.09% to 93.48. The greenback earlier in the session had hit a high of 93.74, the highest in five months.
EUR/USD fell 0.14% $1.1779 pressured by a drop in Italy’s 10-year bond yield as the Five-Star Movement and League reached a coalition agreement to govern the Italy, raising fears that the country finances could come under pressure as they laid out bulky spending proposals.
The retreat in the U.S. bond yields also prompted traders to unwind some of their bullish bets on the dollar and take profit as the 10-year yield turned negative despite some analysts suggesting the uptick in U.S. treasury yields would continue. Action Economics said:
“The fundamental driver of a rising US yield advantage relative to Bunds, coupled with concerns about government policy in Italy, look likely to remain in play.”
GBP/USD fell 0.23% to $1.3484, while USD/JPY fell 0.10% Y110.66.
USD/CAD rose 0.36% to C$1.2891 as Canada inflation fell short of expectations, denting expectations the Bank of Canada would hike rates sooner rather than letter.
Commitments of Traders (Report for week ending 15 May)
This week speculators were less bullish on the euro, oil, and gold. Bullishness increased for the S&P 500.
Note: The data is for the week ending on Tuesday 15 May so the last 3 days of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices rose on Friday as a weaker dollar and falling U.S. Treasury yields bolstered demand for the precious metal but gains were limited as traders remained wary of a rebound in yields.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $2.00, or 0.16%, to $1,291.60 a troy ounce.
Gold prices recovered from lows of $1,285.20 as United States 10-Year turned negative, pressuring the dollar to give up some of its gains after hitting a fresh five-month high.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose to a five-month high of 93.74 before paring some of its gains.
A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency, reducing demand for the yellow metal.
Despite the uptick in gold prices they remained on track for their biggest weekly fall of the year as they struggled to claw back losses suffered earlier during the week, when U.S. bond yields rallied sharply.
Analysts have suggested 10-year treasury bond prices – which trade inversely to yields – could come under pressure, sending yields higher. This may pressure gold prices as a rise in U.S. rates, lift the opportunity cost of holding gold as it pays no interest. The Bank of Montreal said Thursday:
“The break in 3.10% overnight and a yield high of 3.122% means that there are few significant hurdles for 10-year treasury bonds sell off further until support at 3.21-3.24%.”
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 0.13% to $16.46 a troy ounce, while platinum futures fell 0.65% to $886.30 an ounce.
Copper fell 0.74% to $3.07.
WTI crude oil prices settled lower on Friday, but notched their third straight week of gains as falling production in Venezuela and pending U.S. sanctions on Iran helped offset signs of an expansion in U.S. output.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery fell 21 cents to settle at $71.28 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent fell 74 cents to trade at $78.56 a barrel.
The number of oil rigs operating in the US was unchanged at 844, but remained at their highest level since March 20, 2015, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes.
Yet, concerns about rising U.S. production continued to be overshadowed as analysts claimed that rising U.S. shale production would struggle to meet the prospect of global supply shortage. Goldman Sachs said earlier this week, citing oil fundaments had improved as robust demand faced supply disappointments:
“US shale cannot solve the current oil supply problems.”
Investor expectations of a global oil supply shortage comes amid a U.S. announcement this month that it would renew sanctions on Iran – expected in two waves – on Aug 6. And Nov. 5, crippling the Islamic Republic’s energy exports.
Ongoing production woes in Venezuela, meanwhile, added to the prospect of lower global oil supplies, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said earlier this week. The IEA said on Wednesday:
“The potential double supply shortfall represented by Iran and Venezuela could present a major challenge for producers to fend off sharp price rises and fill the gap, not just in terms of the number of barrels but also in terms of oil quality.”
But, the impact on global crude supplies from looming U.S. sanctions on Iran is still unclear as Europe and China refused to support the restrictions.
Goldman Sachs remained bullish, however, citing earlier this month, the sanctions could boost oil prices by as much as $6.50 a barrel.
Natural Gas (Thursday report)
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas storage in the U.S. increased by 106 billion cubic feet in the week ended May 11, compared to forecasts for a build of 105 billion.
Thursday’s data compared with a gain of 89 billion cubic feet (bcf) in the preceding week and represented a decline of 821 billion from a year earlier and was also 501 bcf below the five-year average.
Total U.S. natural gas storage stood at 1.538 trillion cubic feet, 34.8% lower than levels at this time a year ago and also 24.6% below the five-year average for this time of year.
After the report, natural gas for delivery in June on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 1.9 cents, or about 0.7%, to trade at $2.796 per million British thermal units by 10:33AM ET (14:33GMT).
Futures had been trading down 1.7 cents, or about 0.6%, at $2.798 prior to the release of the supply data.
The commodity was on track for its third straight session of declines, wiping out a rally of 1.3% on Monday as updated forecasting models pointed to above-average temperatures covering most of the country through the end of May.
Demand for natural gas tends to rise in the summer months as warmer temperatures increase the need for gas-fired electricity to power air conditioning.
See also Friday (today) report: Natural Gas Rises for the Week as Demand Increases (FXEmpire).
