Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.31%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Utilities, Basic Materials and Consumer Goods sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.31%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.22%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.25%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM), which rose 1.70% or 1.37 points to trade at 81.83 at the close. Meanwhile, Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) added 1.01% or 0.42 points to end at 42.20 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 0.65% or 0.68 points to 106.08 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which fell 1.71% or 0.81 points to trade at 46.45 at the close. The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV) declined 1.30% or 1.71 points to end at 130.09 and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) was down 1.13% or 1.51 points to 132.01.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) which rose 7.69% to 232.58, Acuity Brands Inc (NYSE:AYI) which was up 3.95% to settle at 156.41 and Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) which gained 3.68% to close at 285.80.
The worst performers were T. Rowe Price Group Inc (NASDAQ:TROW) which was down 4.88% to 107.73 in late trade, Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY) which lost 4.21% to settle at 69.17 and PulteGroup Inc (NYSE:PHM) which was down 4.17% to 26.90 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Netlist Inc (NASDAQ:NLST) which rose 91.84% to 0.282, Intellipharmaceutics International (NASDAQ:IPCI) which was up 34.10% to settle at 0.409 and Interlink Electronics Inc (NASDAQ:LINK) which gained 21.71% to close at 4.99.
The worst performers were Mercantil Bank Holding Corp Class B (NASDAQ:MBNAB) which was down 44.23% to 10.00 in late trade, eGain Corporation (NASDAQ:EGAN) which lost 31.24% to settle at 8.750 and Advaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ADXS) which was down 28.67% to 1.02 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1999 to 1027 and 130 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1315 fell and 1206 advanced, while 171 ended unchanged.
Shares in Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) rose to 52-week highs; rising 3.68% or 10.14 to 285.80. Shares in Mercantil Bank Holding Corp Class B (NASDAQ:MBNAB) fell to all time lows; falling 44.23% or 7.93 to 10.00. Shares in Advaxis Inc (NASDAQ:ADXS) fell to all time lows; losing 28.67% or 0.41 to 1.02.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 1.71% to 14.90 a new 1-month high.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.19% or 2.30 to $1202.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October rose 0.10% or 0.07 to hit $67.84 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract rose 0.72% or 0.55 to trade at $77.05 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.53% to 1.1560, while USD/JPY rose 0.18% to 110.95.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.37% at 95.34.
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Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 0.21%
Mexico stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC up 0.52%
Peru stocks higher at close of trade; S&P Lima General up 0.12%
Wall Street drops after Trump threatens further China tariffs (Reuters)
The dollar rose against its rivals Friday on upbeat U.S. labor market data showing better-than-expected jobs and strong wage growth, underlying the strength of U.S. economy just as President Donald Trump hinted that the next round of tariffs could come into effect “soon.”
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, frose 0.41% to 95.38.
Demand for the safe-haven yen remained relatively subdued despite Trump warning that a fresh volley of tariffs on China could “take place very soon.” Trump, said:
“I hate to say this, but behind that there is another $267 billion ready to go on short notice if I want.”
This would add to the $200 billion in goods already targeted, according to Bloomberg and Reuters.
USD/JPY rose 0.23% Y111.01, while EUR/USD fell 0.57% to $1.1556.
The comments come amid signs of ongoing U.S. economic strength following a bullish labor market report.
The U.S. economy added 201,000 jobs in August, above forecasts for 191,000 new jobs, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.9%, the Labor Department said on Friday.
The Federal Reserve’s view that a tighter labor market would lead to wage growth, increasing inflationary pressures, was validated somewhat as average hourly earningsgrew 0.4%, topping economists’ forecast for a 0.3% increase.
With a quarter-point rate hike already baked in for the Sept. 25-26 meeting, the stronger average hourly earnings print lifted expectations for rate hikes further out the curve. BofA Merrill Lynch said it expects three more increases next year following Fed hikes later this month and in December:
“The labor market may have reached a point where limited labor supply is finally starting to put meaningful upward pressure on wages.”
The dollar’s surge forced the pound to give up strong gains, which had followed reports that the UK parliamentary transcripts showed European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier was “open to discussing other backstops” concerning the Irish border issue, easing expectations of the UK leaving the EU without a trade deal.
GBP/USD fell 0.02% to $1.2927 after trading as high as $1.3028 intraday.
Credit Agricole (PA:CAGR) said there “a lot negatives” for the pound and that buyers in the currency likely reflected investors hedging their bearish bets on sterling.
USD/CAD rose 0.24% to C$1.3175 as underwhelming labor market data from Canada, weakening demand for the loonie, strengthening the pair.
The prospect of further friction between China and the U.S. drew little demand for safe-haven gold as a stronger dollar continued to dictate direction for the yellow metal.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $3.30, or 0.27%, to $1,201.00 troy ounce.
Copper prices were set to post a second-straight week of losses Friday, pressured by a stronger dollar and signs the U.S.-China trade war is set to intensify.
Copper prices fell 0.70% to $2.62, marking a sour end to the week, as traders worried the next chapter in the U.S.-China trade war could be the most destructive yet.
U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a willingness to slap additional tariffs on goods from China “very soon.” Trump warned that he could impose levies on $267 billion worth of imported goods from China. This would add to the $200 billion in goods already targeted, according to Bloomberg and Reuters.
The dollar surged on upbeat U.S. labor market data showing better-than-expected jobs and wage growth, indicating that the U.S. economy would be able to deal with a faster pace of Federal Reserve rate hikes.
The U.S. economy added 201,000 jobs in August, above forecasts for 191,000 new jobs, while the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to 3.9%, the Labor Department said on Friday.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was rose 0.39% to 95.36.
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.
The reverberations of a stronger dollar and rising trade tensions echoed through the wider metals as zinc and nickel fell sharply, while aluminum bucked the trend lower.
Aluminium prices rose 1.02% to 2,060.25, nickel futures lost 1.06% to 12,332.50 and zinc prices dropped 1.47% to 2,403.75.
Silver futures tacked on 0.03% to $14.19 a troy ounce, while platinum futures slipped 1.25% to $781.00.
See also:
- Gold Prices Dip as U.S. Wage Inflation All but Cements 2 Fed Rate Hikes
- Current environment remains unattractive for precious metals – TD Securities (FXStreet)
WTI crude oil prices settled marginally lower Friday, as signs of tightening U.S. output were offset by a stronger dollar and fears rising U.S.-China trade tensions could hamper oil demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for October delivery fell 2 cents to settle at $67.75 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent rose 0.38% to trade at $76.80 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 860.
The fall in rig counts, pointing to signs of contracting crude output, echoed data from a day earlier showing U.S. output remained unchanged from the prior week at 11.0 million barrels a day.
Crude oil prices were pressured by a rising dollar on the back of upbeat U.S. labor market data, and signs that President Donald Trump remains committed to impose fresh tariffs on imported Chinese goods. Trump said, referring to levies on additional goods imported from China:
“I hate to say this, but behind that there is another $267 billion ready to go on short notice if I want.”
China, the world’s largest commodity importer, has seen econonomic performance hit in the wake of the trade war with the U.S. and a further escalation could dent growth, forcing Beijing to rein in crude imports.
Beyond trade, analysts continued to highlight supply risks, owing to production outages within OPEC that could support oil prices.
SEB Markets said OPEC’s spare capacity is “running thin,” at just about 1 million barrels a day, as “supply is disturbed within the group,” following ongoing production outages in Venezuela and already declining Iranian crude exports a result of U.S. economic sanctions.
The subdued end to the week follows a slump earlier, when bets on a potential disruption to U.S. output failed to materialize as Tropical Storm Gordon did not make landfall in the oil-rich U.S. gulf region, as many had expected.
A mixed petroleum report showing crude stockpiles fell, but product inventories rose sharply also weighed on sentiment amid worries that falling crude stockpiles may be nearing an end as the summer driving season, which tends drive up crude demand, is in the rearview mirror.
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Natural Gas (FXEmpire)
Natural gas prices moved higher on Friday bouncing at trend line support. For the week prices dropped 4.7%, as demand remains flat along with supply. Volatility is relatively muted given the number of storms that are brewing in the Atlantic. There is currently one named storm, but two that have nearly a 90% chance of become a cyclone and 1 that has approximately a 60% chance. Production remains strong, but demand should be solid given the state of the economy and the robust jobs growth that has been experienced in the US.
Technical Analysis
Natural gas prices held support near an upward sloping trend line that comes in near 2.75. A close below support would lead to a test of the July lows at 2.70. Resistance is seen near the 10-day moving average at 2.85. Momentum remains negative as the MACD (moving average convergence divergence) histogram prints in the red with a downward sloping trajectory which points to lower prices.
Hurricanes continue to move westward in the Atlantic according to NOAA.
For more on tropical storm status, see September 6, 2018 Special Tropical Cyclone Update (updated frequently).
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