Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.36%
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Goods, Utilities and Telecoms sectors led shares higher while losses in the Oil & Gas, Industrials and Technology sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.36%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.25%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.06%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which rose 3.35% or 4.79 points to trade at 147.75 at the close. Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) added 2.00% or 0.80 points to end at 40.45 and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) was up 0.99% or 0.88 points to 89.64 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which fell 0.63% or 2.20 points to trade at 347.53 at the close. United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) declined 0.45% or 0.60 points to end at 133.52 and Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was down 0.40% or 0.55 points to 137.46.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) which rose 8.10% to 64.21, Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) which was up 7.74% to settle at 55.70 and DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) which gained 6.80% to close at 31.89.
The worst performers were Stericycle Inc (NASDAQ:SRCL) which was down 12.96% to 61.77 in late trade, Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) which lost 10.11% to settle at 18.77 and Noble Energy Inc (NYSE:NBL) which was down 7.68% to 32.98 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Oxbridge Re Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:OXBR) which rose 37.14% to 2.40, Pixelworks Inc (NASDAQ:PXLW) which was up 27.91% to settle at 4.170 and Hanwha Q Cells Co Ltd (NASDAQ:HQCL) which gained 25.00% to close at 8.250.
The worst performers were Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:HMNY) which was down 30.00% to 0.070 in late trade, Varex Imaging Corp (NASDAQ:VREX) which lost 26.36% to settle at 28.34 and Immersion Corporation (NASDAQ:IMMR) which was down 25.19% to 10.64 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1616 to 1353 and 44 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1578 fell and 909 advanced, while 115 ended unchanged.
Shares in Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC) fell to 52-week lows; down 10.11% or 2.11 to 18.77. Shares in Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) rose to 5-year highs; up 2.00% or 0.80 to 40.45. Shares in Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (NASDAQ:HMNY) fell to all time lows; falling 30.00% or 0.030 to 0.070.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 4.51% to 11.64 a new 6-months low.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.39% or 4.80 to $1224.90 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September fell 0.96% or 0.66 to hit $68.30 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 0.35% or 0.26 to trade at $73.19 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.03% to 1.1588, while USD/JPY fell 0.37% to 111.24.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.11% at 94.90.
See also:
Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 0.05%
Mexico stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC up 0.61%
The dollar fell against its rivals Friday as data showed the U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected and services activity slowed in July.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, fell by 0.15% to 94.86.
The U.S. economy added just 157,000 jobs in June, well below forecasts for 193,000 new jobs, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.9%, the Labor Department said on Friday.
Analysts played down the weaker nonfarm payrolls, saying the underlying trend of U.S. job creation remained on track.
“Even with today’s miss, the trend in payroll growth remains solid,” Wells Fargo(NYSE:WFC) said.
Average hourly earnings grew 0.3% in July, and 2.7% in the 12 months through July, in line with economists’ forecasts. But analysts said the timid wage growth does little to support the Fed’s position that tighter labor markets would lead to price pressures. Evan Brown, director of asset allocation at UBS Asset Management, said:
“Wages are moving up but we’re not seeing a spike in wages that would concern the market about a sudden rise in inflation. There’s not much of a reaction in markets at the moment.”
The services sector, a critical component of the US economy accounting for roughly 80% of U.S. private-sector gross domestic product (GDP), unexpectedly weakened in July, according to the Institute of Supply Management’s Index.
ISM non-manufacturing data for July showed an drop to 55.7, missing expectations of 58.6.
A rise in yen on safe-haven demand amid fresh U.S.-China trade-war fears also held back the dollar.
China is reportedly preparing to retaliate – against the United States’ recent threat to raise trade penalties on goods imported from China – with tariffs on about $60 billion worth of U.S. goods.
USD/JPY fell 0.38% to Y111.23, while USD/CHF fell 0.25% even as the Swiss National Bank said there was room to lower rates if needed.
EUR/USD rose 0.05% to $1.1591 while USD/CAD fell 0.35% to C$1.2978.
GBP/USD fell 0.01% to $1.3017 amid Brexit-related angst after the Bank of England governor Mark Carney said the risk of a no-deal Brexit was “uncomfortably high“.
Commitments of Traders (No report from Investing.com this week)
This data is for the week ending on Tuesday 19 June so the last 28 days of trading are not reflected.
Gold prices were higher on Friday after disappointing jobs data pushed the U.S. dollar lower.
Comex gold futures for August delivery rose 0.57% to $1,227.10 a troy ounce as of 10:58 AM ET (14:58 GMT), but still remained near two-week lows. A stronger dollar and rising interest rates have weighed on gold in recent months.
Meanwhile, the number of jobs added to the economy was less than expected in June, but still strong enough to keep the Federal Reserve on track to gradually increase interest rates.
Nonfarm payrolls (NFP) rose by 157,000 in July, according to official data released on Friday.
The Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, as expected, but pointed to the potential for increased rate hikes due to strong U.S. economic data.
Higher rates are a negative for gold as the precious metal, which does not pay interest, struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates rise.
The precious metal was boosted after the dollar fell due to the tepid jobs report. Gold falls as the dollar rises, as it is denominated in the U.S. currency and is sensitive to moves in the dollar.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, slumped 0.13% to 94.88.
Bullion becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies when the dollar rises and cheaper when it falls.
Other metals were mostly up on the Comex, with silver futures rising 0.97% to $15.535 a troy ounce. Among other precious metals, Platinum Futures rose 1.68% to $842.10, while Palladium Futures decreased 0.38% to $912.00 an ounce. Copper futures rose 0.68% to $2.756 a pound.
See also: Gold Prices Break and Bounce on FOMC, NFP Focus Shifts to Infaltion (Dailyfx)
WTI crude oil prices settled lower Friday, as concerns about global demand growth in the wake of escalating U.S.-China trade tensions kept a lid on gains overshadowing data showing the number of U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for September delivery fell 47 cents to settle at $68.49 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent fell 0.27% to trade at $73.22 a barrel.
Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported on Friday that the number of U.S. oil drilling rigs in operation fell by 2 to 861, pointing to tightening U.S. output.
The drop in rig counts supported data earlier this week showing U.S. crude output fell to 10.9 million barrels a day last week.
Oil prices attempted to pare losses on the back of the upbeat rig count data, but ultimately settled in lower as earlier losses from fears that a trade war between the U.S. and China – one the largest buyers of American crude – would stifle demand.
The weekly loss in U.S. crude prices comes as traders appeared to scale back expectations for steep losses of Iranian crude, while an unexpected rise in U.S. crude stockpiles also weighed on sentiment.
Inventories of U.S. crude rose by 3.803 million barrels for the week ended July 27, confounding expectations for a draw of 2.794 million barrels, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
Expectations for steep losses of Iranian crude from the market was scaled back somewhat after U.S. President Donald Trump made an offer earlier this week to meet with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani at “any time,” without restrictions.
Analysts have said the loss of Iranian crude from the market could rise to as much as 1 million barrels per day.
See also Crude Oil WTI Technical Analysis: Oil consolidating Thursday’s gains below the 69.00 figure (FXStreet).
Natural Gas (FXEmpire)
Natural gas prices surged higher by slightly less than 1.5% on Friday, as warmer than normal weather is forecast to cover most of the United States for the next 8-14 days. The warm temperatures will increase cooling demand just as inventories have reached critical levels. On Thursday the Department of Energy reported that stocks increased by 35 Bcf compared to the 40 Bcf expected by analysts. Inventories are now below the 5-year average range while prices remain below the 5-year average price of natural gas at 3.14. Prices fell short of taking out resistance near the 50-day moving average at 2.87. Support is seen near the 10-day moving average at 2.78. Momentum on natural gas prices is positive as the MACD histogram is printing in the black with an upward sloping trajectory which points to higher prices. The fast stochastic generated a crossover buy signal which points to accelerating positive momentum.
Natural Gas Supplies Remain Unchanged
The EIA reported this week that natural gas production was unchanged notching up an average total supply of 86.7 Bcf per day. Dry natural gas production remained constant week over week, according to the Department of Energy. Average net imports from Canada decreased by 4% from last week.
The EIA also reported that May set a fresh record of production. In their short-term production report the EIA revealed that May 2018 dry natural gas production averaged 80.4 Bcf per day which was the highest level since EIA began tracking dry natural gas production in 1973. The previous record was 79.5 Bcf per in March 2018 according to the EIA report.
Demand falls
Total U.S. consumption of natural gas fell by 1% compared with the previous report week, according to data from the EIA. Natural gas consumed for power generation declined by 4% week over week as temperatures moderated somewhat in the Southwest. Industrial sector consumption stayed constant, averaging 19.9 Bcf per day according to the EIA report. In the residential and commercial sectors, consumption increased by 8% but remains a minor source of consumption during the summer months. Natural gas exports to Mexico increased 2%.
