Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.30%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Goods, Healthcare and Industrials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.30% to hit a new 1-month high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.31%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.14%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG), which rose 1.87% or 1.42 points to trade at 77.18 at the close. Meanwhile, Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) added 1.47% or 1.51 points to end at 103.98 and The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) was up 1.19% or 1.55 points to 131.32 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 1.49% or 0.83 points to trade at 55.05 at the close. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) declined 0.91% or 1.76 points to end at 191.70 and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) was down 0.69% or 0.59 points to 84.36.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Monster Beverage 1990 Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) which rose 5.02% to 55.48, Allergan Plc (NYSE:AGN) which was up 4.34% to settle at 170.35 and DR Horton Inc (NYSE:DHI) which gained 4.12% to close at 44.19.
The worst performers were Wyndham Destinations Inc (NYSE:WYND) which was down 3.02% to 48.24 in late trade, Skyworks Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:SWKS) which lost 2.61% to settle at 99.81 and Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) which was down 2.54% to 257.97 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were EDAP TMS SA(NASDAQ:EDAP) which rose 62.90% to 3.600, TapImmune Inc (NASDAQ:TPIV) which was up 51.26% to settle at 9.0000 and Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) which gained 26.49% to close at 24.88.
The worst performers were Trovagene Inc (NASDAQ:TROV) which was down 48.02% to 0.920 in late trade, Evolus Inc (NASDAQ:EOLS) which lost 17.46% to settle at 25.57 and SenesTech Inc (NASDAQ:SNES) which was down 15.06% to 1.41 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1750 to 1309 and 127 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1286 rose and 1243 declined, while 140 ended unchanged.
Shares in Trovagene Inc (NASDAQ:TROV) fell to 5-year lows; falling 48.02% or 0.850 to 0.920. Shares in TapImmune Inc (NASDAQ:TPIV) rose to 52-week highs; up 51.26% or 3.0500 to 9.0000.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 0.25% to 12.16.
Gold Futures for August delivery was unchanged 0.00% or 0.00 to $1303.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in July fell 0.50% or 0.33 to hit $65.62 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract fell 1.19% or 0.92 to trade at $76.40 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.25% to 1.1770, while USD/JPY fell 0.20% to 109.48.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.12% at 93.54 for the day, but down 0.77% for the week.
See also:
Canada stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite up 0.01%
Mexico stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC up 1.02%
The U.S. dollar rose Friday but looks set to post its biggest weekly loss since March as traders remained wary of escalating trade tensions after the G7 meeting got underway.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.14% to 93.56.
With limited top-tier economic data on the calendar, traders shifted focus to escalating tensions between the United States and its allies as U.S. President Donald Trump went into the G7 meeting expecting a frosty reception after lashing out at Canada and the European Union.
Trump, in a tweet, accused the United States allies of levying “massive tariffs” and creating non-monetary barriers.
The Canadian dollar clawed back losses against the greenback as weaker labor market data from Canada failed to dampen investor expectations the Bank of Canada would raise rates in July.
Canadian employment fell by 7,500 in May according to the Labour Force Survey, undershooting expectations for gain of 17,500.
USD/CAD fell 0.15% to C$1.2951 from a session high of C$1.3037.
EUR/USD fell 0.23% $1.1772 on profit taking, while GBP/USD 0.10% to $1.3409 as Brexit concerns weighed on the latter pair a day after the UK government’s release of its post-Brexit plans for the Irish border.
Emerging market currencies were also in focus Friday as the Brazil’s real rallied sharply on positive inflation data, sending the USD/BRL tumbling 4.13% to 3.7439.
USD/JPY fell 0.21% as concerns over the prospect of a full-blown trade war stoked demand for safe-haven yen.
Commitments of Traders (Report for week ending 05 June)
This week speculators were less bullish on the euro and crude oil. Bullishness increased for copper and the S&P 500.
Note: The data is for the week ending on Tuesday 05 June so the last 3 days of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices were roughly unchanged Friday despite escalating tensions between the United States and its allies as the G7 meeting kicked off.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $0.20 or 0.02%, to $1,302.80 a troy ounce.
Tensions grew between the United States and its allies as U.S. President Donald Trump went into the G7 meeting expecting a frosty reception after lashing out at Canada and the European Union.
That failed, however, to spark demand for gold, which traded continued to trade in a narrow range as traders remained wary of initiating large bets on the yellow metal ahead of widely expected Federal Reserve next week.
Investor expectations for a faster pace of rate hikes has returned on the back of a string of bullish U.S. economy data, Stifel said.
“Improvement in the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation has reinvigorated the argument for a rise in rates potentially at an accelerated pace should inflation now exceed the Fed’s target,” Stifel said in a note to clients.
According to investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, 33.8% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to hike rates for a fourth time at its December meeting, up from under 30% last week.
In a rising interest rate environment, investor appetite for gold weakens as the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal increases relative to other interest-bearing assets such as bonds.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 0.27% to $16.77 a troy ounce, while platinum futures rose 0.70% to $906.60 an ounce.
Copper rose 0.55% to $3.30. Copper is up 6.45% in the last week and 10.7% since 01 April.
WTI crude oil prices settled lower on Friday as data showing U.S. oil rig counts continued to climb exacerbated fears of a ramp up in U.S. output.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for July delivery fell 21 cents to settle at $65.74 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent fell 1.18% to trade at $76.41 a barrel.
The number of oil rigs operating in the US increased by 1 to 862, its highest level since March 13, 2015, according to data from energy services firm Baker Hughes, pointing to signs of an expansion in U.S. output.
The continued uptick in drilling activity comes as the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday U.S. oil output rose to a record 10.8 million barrels per day.
Fears that surging U.S. output may halt the pace of rebalancing in oil markets forced JPMorgan to cut outlook on oil prices.
JPMorgan cut its 2018 crude forecast for WTI by $3 to $62.20 a barrel, Reuters reported, citing traders.
Trading in oil was choppy for most of the week amid upbeat comments from OPEC members as they attempted to allay fears that the oil cartel would lift limits on production curbs at its June 22 meeting.
Algeria’s oil minister said Thursday OPEC would focus on balancing the market rather than on easing production curbs, Reuters reported. While Iraqi’s Oil Minister, said a production increase in the second half of the year was not on the agenda for the OPEC meeting.
OPEC and other producers, including Russia have cut output by 1.8 million barrels per day since 2017 to rid the market of excess supplies. The OPEC-led deal, agreed in November 2016, was renewed last year through 2018.
Oil prices were also supported in the week by a report pointing to signs of ongoing Venezuela output woes as the country is nearly a month behind delivering crude to customers from its main export terminals, Reuters said, citing shipping data.
See also OPEC likely to reject Iran request for discussion of U.S. sanctions (Reuters).
Natural Gas (FX Empire)
Natural gas prices moved lower on Friday after whipsawing on Thursday following the EIA’s estimate of natural gas inventories. Softer than expected Canadian economic data weighed on prices. The weather is expected to be mixed but warmer than normal weather in Texas could help prices remain buoyed. Natural gas fell below support near a short-term upward sloping trend line that comes in near 2.91. Resistance is seen near the June highs at 2.99.
The EIA reported that working gas in storage was 1,817 Bcf as of Friday, June 1, 2018. This represents a net increase of 92 Bcf from the previous week. Expectations were for an increase of 87 Bcf. Stocks were 799 Bcf less than last year at this time and 512 Bcf below the five-year average of 2,329 Bcf. At 1,817 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
