Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.23%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Industrials and Basic Materials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.23%, while the S&P 500 index added 0.08%, and the NASDAQ Composite index climbed 0.09%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 11.13% or 7.98 points to trade at 79.68 at the close. Meanwhile, American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) added 1.06% or 1.03 points to end at 98.00 and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) was up 0.93% or 0.76 points to 82.73 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), which fell 1.59% or 0.22 points to trade at 13.61 at the close. Goldman Sachs GroupInc (NYSE:GS) declined 1.28% or 2.85 points to end at 220.57 and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) was down 1.08% or 0.55 points to 50.31.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX) which rose 15.16% to 169.96, Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) which was up 11.13% to settle at 79.68 and Celgene Corporation (NASDAQ:CELG) which gained 3.60% to close at 79.42.
The worst performers were Constellation Brands Inc Class A (NYSE:STZ) which was down 5.79% to 218.87 in late trade, Under Armour Inc A (NYSE:UAA) which lost 3.97% to settle at 22.48 and Under Armour Inc C (NYSE:UA) which was down 3.48% to 21.080 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON) which rose 96.66% to 8.24, Gemphire Therapeutics Inc(NASDAQ:GEMP) which was up 94.47% to settle at 10.19 and Tintri Inc(NASDAQ:TNTR) which gained 73.73% to close at 0.25.
The worst performers were Gevo Inc (NASDAQ:GEVO) which was down 40.72% to 3.8000 in late trade, China Customer Relations Centers Inc (NASDAQ:CCRC) which lost 33.11% to settle at 22.59 and ZK International Group Co Ltd (NASDAQ:ZKIN) which was down 31.83% to 3.17 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1778 to 1281 and 130 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1313 rose and 1259 declined, while 128 ended unchanged.
Shares in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) rose to all time highs; gaining 11.13% or 7.98 to 79.68. Shares in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) rose to all time highs; rising 11.13% or 7.98 to 79.68. Shares in Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON) rose to 3-years highs; gaining 96.66% or 4.05 to 8.24. Shares in ZK International Group Co Ltd (NASDAQ:ZKIN) fell to all time lows; falling 31.83% or 1.48 to 3.17.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.16% to 15.98.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.26% or 3.20 to $1254.20 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 1.24% or 0.91 to hit $74.36 a barrel, while the September Brent oil contract rose 1.97% or 1.53 to trade at $79.14 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 1.00% to 1.1684, while USD/JPY rose 0.13% to 110.63.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.81% at 94.23.
See also:
Canada stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite up 0.48%
Mexico stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC up 1.34%
The U.S. dollar was under pressure Friday amid a rampant euro as leaders of Europe reached an agreement on a migration deal, easing pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.71% to 94.33.
European Union member states Friday struck a migration deal, agreeing on several measures to tackle the migrant crises in the EU including stepping up border security and setting up holding centers to handle asylum seekers.
The deal was cheered by traders as it eased political uncertainty within the bloc, sending the EUR/USD sharply higher, to $1.1677, up 0.94%.
Ahead of the deal, member states had been in constant disagreement over the handling of migrate crisis: Italy – one of the first port of calls for migrants who manage to survive the trek across the Mediterranean – had threatened to veto any deal if member states did not take “concrete steps” to share the influx of migrants.
In German Chancellor Merkel’s own backyard, meanwhile, coalition partner, Christian Social Union, had threatened to end the government coalition amid differing views on measures to tackle the migrant crisis.
The rampant euro overshadowed mostly positive U.S. economic data including a report showing U.S. inflation hit the Fed’s target, paving the way for the Fed to continue on its rate-hike cycle.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure – the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy – rose 2% in the 12 months through May.
The Chicago business barometer, a closely-watched indicator by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), rose to a reading of 64.1 in June from 62.7 the prior month, topping economists’ estimates for a reading of 60.0.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday, but that was slower than economists had forecast.
But analysts at Stifel downplayed the weakness in consumer spending, citing income growth offered little evidence this was the start of a trend lower in consumer spending, adding that the stronger inflation data would support calls for a faster pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes. Stifel said Friday:
“From the Fed’s point of view, stable wages coupled with a further rise in prices offers additional justification for a potentially accelerated pathway for rates.”
GBP/USD rallied 0.89% to $1.3194 after the UK economy grew faster-than-expectedin the first quarter, renewing investor expectations for a Bank of England rate hike this year.
Safe-haven currencies traded mix as USD/JPY rose 0.25% to Y110.77, while USD/CHF fell 0.57% 0.9917.
USD/CAD fell 0.81% to C$1.3142 as a rally in oil prices failed to stem losses in the loonie.
Commitments of Traders (Report for week ending 26 June)
This week speculators were more bullish on the S&P 500 and crude oil. Bullishness decreased for gold and copper.
Note: The data is for the week ending on Tuesday 19 June so the last 3 days of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices traded higher Friday on a weaker dollar, but remained on track to post their biggest monthly slump since September after suffering heavy losses this month.
Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose by $4.90 or 0.39%, to $1,255.90 a troy ounce.
The dollar fell sharply Friday on the back of a resurgent euro, paving the way for gold to pare some of its recent losses but gains in the yellow metal were limited by mostly upbeat U.S. economic data, reaffirming investor expectations for a faster pace of rate hikes.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure – the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy – rose 2% in the 12 months through May.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose by 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said on Friday, missing economists’ expectations for a 0.4% rise.
But analysts at Stifel downplayed the weakness in consumer spending, citing income growth offered little evidence this was the start of a trend lower in consumer spending, adding that the stronger inflation data would support calls for a faster pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes.
“From the Fed’s point of view, stable wages coupled with a further rise in prices offers additional justification for a potentially accelerated pathway for rates,” Stifel said Friday.
Gold prices were on track to post their biggest monthly slump since September as a strong uptick in the dollar this month, prompted traders to cut their bullish bets on gold.
The weakness in gold comes as its safe-haven status failed to attract demand at a time when trade war rhetoric – which has eased slightly – remained front and center as both China and U.S. pledged to enact trade restriction earlier this month.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures rose 1.03% to $16.12 a troy ounce, while platinum futures added 0.08% to $855.90 an ounce.
Copper prices fell 0.19% to $2.97.
WTI crude oil prices settled nearly 1% higher Friday as signs of a slowdown in U.S. output, and continued supply outages, prompted traders to increase their bullish bets on oil.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for August delivery gained 66 cents, or nearly 1% to settle at $74.11 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent climbed 2.1% to trade at $79.70 a barrel. WTI crude oil prices settled above $74 a barrel for the first time since November 2014.
Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported on Friday that the number of U.S. oil drilling rigs in operation fell by 4 to 858 in the week to June 22. That was the second-straight weekly drop in rig counts, raising investor hopes that the rampant pace of domestic output could be slowing at a time of rising global demand.
Crude oil prices were also supported by ongoing expectations that global supplies will come under pressure as more countries could back US sanctions against Iran, stifling the country’s crude exports, adding a supply-risk premium to oil prices.
This comes despite reports Thursday the United States would be willing to work countries on a case by case basis to help them cut their Iranian crude imports, a State Department official said on Thursday, as reported by Reuters. A a State Department official told Reuters:
“Our focus is to work with those countries importing Iranian crude oil to get as many of them as possible down to zero by November 4. We are prepared to work with countries that are reducing their imports on a case by case basis.”
Unexpected disruptions in Canada, Libya and Venezuela, meanwhile, reined in supply, further lifting sentiment on oil prices.
A production shutdown at Canada’s Syncrude, which has capacity to produce 350,000 barrels per day of oil, drained crude supply across North America, supporting the massive draw in U.S. crude supplies reported earlier this week
See also U.S. oil prices settle with a first half of the year gain of more than 20% (MarketWatch).
Natural Gas (Report from FXEmpire)
Natural gas prices dipped but remain in an uptrend as warmer than normal weather is expected to cover most of the U.S. over the next 6-10 days. The next 1-5 days are expected to be especially hot, driving up cooling demand. Electric generation to run air conditioners will potentially cause electrical outages.
Prices are forming a wedge pattern, with support seen near an upward sloping trend line that 2.91. Resistance is seen near a downward sloping trend line that comes in near 3.03. Momentum is slightly negative as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) histogram is printing in the red with a slightly downward sloping trajectory which points to lower prices. Prices are consolidating and the RSI (relative strength index) is printing a reading of 51, which is in the middle of the neutral range and reflects consolidation.
Supply Increased
Average week-over-week supply increases slightly. According to data from the EIA, the average total supply of natural gas rose by 1% compared with the previous report week. Dry natural gas production grew by 1% compared with the previous report week. Average net imports from Canada decreased by 4% from last week.
Overall consumption rises
Overall consumption rises slightly on increased residential and commercial demand. Total U.S. consumption of natural gas rose by 1% compared with the previous report week, according to data from the EIA. Natural gas consumed for power generation declined by 3% week over week. Industrial sector consumption increased by 1% week over week. In the residential and commercial sectors, consumption increased by 22%. Natural gas exports to Mexico decreased 3%.
U.S. LNG exports increase week over week. Six LNG vessels combined LNG-carrying capacity 21.7 Bcf departed the United States from June 21 through June 27 all from the Sabine Pass liquefaction terminal. One tanker LNG-carrying capacity 3.6 Bcf was loading at Sabine Pass terminal on Wednesday.