Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.07%
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Utilities, Healthcare and Technology sectors led shares higher while losses in the Basic Materials, Financials and Oil & Gas sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.07%, while the S&P 500 index lost 0.00%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.05%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which rose 3.08% or 1.42 points to trade at 47.30 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 1.23% or 4.51 points to end at 371.90 and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) was up 0.78% or 0.90 points to 116.94 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were DowDuPont Inc (NYSE:DWDP), which fell 1.56% or 1.02 points to trade at 64.31 at the close. Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) declined 1.54% or 3.50 points to end at 224.24 and JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) was down 1.47% or 1.68 points to 112.84.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) which rose 5.09% to 281.02, Scana Corporation (NYSE:SCG) which was up 3.90% to settle at 38.89 and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) which gained 3.08% to close at 47.30.
The worst performers were Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ:AMD) which was down 5.25% to 30.880 in late trade, S&P Global Inc (NYSE:SPGI) which lost 4.23% to settle at 195.39 and Marathon Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:MPC) which was down 3.70% to 79.97 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Sky Solar Holdings Adr Rep 8(NASDAQ:SKYS) which rose 47.39% to 0.678, AGM Group Holdings Inc Class A (NASDAQ:AGMH) which was up 34.21% to settle at 39.00 and New Age Beverages Corp (NASDAQ:NBEV) which gained 30.81% to close at 5.35.
The worst performers were Altimmune Inc (NASDAQ:ALT) which was down 49.89% to 4.400 in late trade, Rxi Pharmaceuticals Corp (NASDAQ:RXII) which lost 28.22% to settle at 1.1700 and Monaker Group Inc (NASDAQ:MKGI) which was down 24.56% to 2.1501 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1705 to 1340 and 117 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1403 rose and 1156 declined, while 168 ended unchanged.
Shares in Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) rose to 52-week highs; up 0.78% or 0.90 to 116.94. Shares in AGM Group Holdings Inc Class A (NASDAQ:AGMH) rose to all time highs; up 34.21% or 9.94 to 39.00. Shares in Rxi Pharmaceuticals Corp (NASDAQ:RXII) fell to all time lows; losing 28.22% or 0.4600 to 1.1700.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 1.93% to 12.17.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 0.64% or 7.60 to $1195.00 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November rose 1.96% or 1.41 to hit $73.53 a barrel, while the December Brent oil contract rose 1.92% or 1.56 to trade at $82.94 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.30% to 1.1606, while USD/JPY rose 0.26% to 113.68.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.19% at 94.79.
See also:
Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 0.95%
Mexico stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/BMV IPC down 0.35%
Peru stocks higher at close of trade; S&P Lima General up 0.14%
The dollar pared gains against rivals Friday, weighed down a bevy of mostly underwhelming U.S. economic data.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.13% to 94.73.
The Chicago purchasing manager’s index (PMI) fell to a reading of 60.4 in September from 63.6 the prior month.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, was flat in August from July, remaining at the Fed’s 2% target in annual terms.
The data validated Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s remarks earlier this week when he claimed there was little chance that inflation would “surprise to the upside,” which would push the bank to adopt a more hawkish stance on monetary policy. Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi said:
“Core inflation pressures seem to have crested at the Fed’s 2% target the last several months backing up Fed Chair Powell’s contention that inflation was unlikely to pose a problem in the future.”
The greenback’s retreat from session highs was limited, however, by weakness in the euro as Italian concerns came to the fore. Italy’s populist government late Thursday showed little regard to tackling the country’s debt burden, setting next year’s budget at 2.4% of GDP, above what many had expected, risking backlash from EU policymakers.
EUR/USD fell 0.27% to $1.1610.
The key risk here is that further negotiations with the Commission could result in Italy being requested to go down the austerity route, Nomura said. It added:
“This could prompt a Euroskeptic response from the government.”
Sterling was also on the back foot against the dollar, falling 0.31% to $1.3037.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD sank 0.87% to C$1.2391 as upbeat economic growth data from Canada and rising oil prices, which tends to support the loonie, weighed on the pair.
The trade-sensitive USD/JPY rose 0.20% to Y113.60.
Gold prices were slightly higher on Friday, but still remained near a six-week low as the greenback continued to rally from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike and strong economic data.
Comex gold futures for December delivery inched up 0.20% to $1,189.80 a troy ounce as of 9:22 AM ET (13:22 GMT), on track for a 1.7% loss for September.
Gold suffered after the Fed increased interest rates for the third time on Wednesday, which helped bolster the greenback. The precious metal is sensitive to higher rates because they push up bond yields, making bullion less attractive to buyers of other currencies.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, increased 0.29% to 94.88.
Gold usually falls as the dollar rises, as it is denominated in the U.S. currency and is sensitive to moves in the dollar. Bullion becomes more expensive for holders of other currencies when the dollar rises and cheaper when it falls.
Meanwhile, consumer spending in the U.S. rose as expected in August, but was slightly lower than the prior month.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding food and energy, was unexpectedly flat in August after an increase of 0.2% in the prior month. Economists had predicted a 0.1% rise.
Other metals were higher on the Comex, with silver futures surging 1.89% to $14.555 a troy ounce. Among other precious metals, platinum futures rose 0.58% to $819.30, while palladium futures increased 1.05% to $1,071.20 an ounce. Copper futures gained 0.18% to $2.788 a pound.
See also:
- Gold Q4 Forecast: Gold Selloff Likely to Continue as Fed Proceeds with Rate Hikes (Dailyfx)
- Gold higher on the day in NY but prices remain in the gold bear domain (Marketpulse)
Oil prices were higher on Friday as supply concerns weighed and investors looked ahead to weekly rig count data.
West Texas crude oil futures for November rose 0.22% to $72.28 a barrel as of 9:54 AM ET (13:54 GMT). Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., increased 0.69% to a four-year-high of $81.94.
Late on Wednesday, the U.S. said it would not increase supply to offset the decrease in production.
Energy Secretary Rick Perry told a news conference that the Trump Administration was not considering a release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to offset the impact of the sanctions on Iran that is expected to come into force on Nov. 4.
The move comes after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia in Algiers on Sunday and made no formal recommendation for any additional supply boost. Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s largest producer, says it can add an extra 1.5 million barrels per day.
Prices of oil have been rising in recent months over concern of tightening supply due to U.S. sanctions against Tehran, which have already caused Iran’s crude exports to fall.
Investors are also looking ahead to the the Baker Hughes U.S. oil rig count at 1:00 PM ET (17:00 GMT).
In other energy trading, gasoline RBOB futures rose 0.56% at $2.0810 a gallon, while heating oil increased 0.24% to $2.3316 a gallon. Natural gas futures lost 2.16% to $2.990 per million British thermal units.
See also:
- Brent Oil Has Biggest 2018 Gain in September as Iran Sanctions Rattle Market
- Oil on Biggest Tear in Decade as Global Supply Cushion Vanishes (Bloomberg)
- Oil prices score for a second consecutive monthly gain (Marketpulse)
Natural Gas (FXEmpire)
Natural gas markets initially shot higher during the week, and even reached as high as the $3.10 region before turning around. Friday was negative, and as a result we ended up forming a bit of a shooting star. After the absolutely astonishing run during the previous week, it makes sense that we would be a little bit exhausted. However, if we can break down below the $2.95 level, then it’s likely that we go back to the bottom of the overall consolidation range that I have clearly marked on this chart. I think that could send this down to the $2.75 level over time, but I would not expect a huge red candle like we got in the opposite direction recently. At this point, I do realize that we are starting to get close to the relatively bullish time of year, but I would also point out that we never got that massive breakout last year.
This market is very sensitive to short-term weather conditions, so that of course will cause some issues, but as I stated in the preamble, “price doesn’t lie.” This candlestick is extraordinarily bearish, and I suspect that if we break down we just simply returned to the bottom. Ultimately though, if we break above the top of the shooting star that is a very bullish sign and could send this market as high as $3.20, followed by $3.40 after that. I believe that this weekly candle stick could be crucial that is going to be formed over the next five sessions.
