Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.34%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Technology, Oil & Gas and Basic Materials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.34%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.66%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 1.00%.
Please share this article – Go to very top of page, right hand side for social media buttons.
The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), which rose 1.41% or 3.07 points to trade at 221.08 at the close. Meanwhile, Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) added 0.90% or 0.76 points to end at 85.49 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was up 0.69% or 0.87 points to 126.16 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), which fell 2.88% or 4.04 points to trade at 136.06 at the close. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) declined 2.52% or 1.19 points to end at 45.98 andCaterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) was down 2.20% or 2.69 points to 119.33.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN) which rose 5.95% to 196.25, News Corp B (NASDAQ:NWS) which was up 5.31% to settle at 14.07 and News Corp A (NASDAQ:NWSA) which gained 5.14% to close at 13.70.
The worst performers were DXC Technology Co (NYSE:DXC) which was down 30.49% to 35.90 in late trade, Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) which lost 29.25% to settle at 20.92 and Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) which was down 6.09% to 26.50 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Arcadia Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:RKDA) which rose 124.38% to 4.510, InnerWorkings Inc (NASDAQ:INWK) which was up 58.45% to settle at 4.50 and Two Rivers Bancorp (NASDAQ:TRCB) which gained 50.78% to close at 20.40.
The worst performers were ViewRay Inc (NASDAQ:VRAY) which was down 54.01% to 3.100 in late trade, Waitr Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:WTRH) which lost 49.73% to settle at 1.89 and Exela Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:XELA) which was down 47.76% to 1.28 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2006 to 992 and 23 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1765 fell and 897 advanced, while 74 ended unchanged.
Shares in DXC Technology Co (NYSE:DXC) fell to 3-years lows; losing 30.49% or 15.75 to 35.90. Shares in Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) fell to 52-week lows; down 29.25% or 8.65 to 20.92. Shares in Kraft Heinz Co (NASDAQ:KHC) fell to 5-year lows; falling 6.09% or 1.72 to 26.50. Shares in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) rose to all time highs; up 1.41% or 3.07 to 221.08. Shares in ViewRay Inc (NASDAQ:VRAY) fell to 52-week lows; losing 54.01% or 3.640 to 3.100. Shares in Waitr Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:WTRH) fell to all time lows; down 49.73% or 1.87 to 1.89. Shares in Two Rivers Bancorp (NASDAQ:TRCB) rose to 52-week highs; up 50.78% or 6.87 to 20.40. Shares in Exela Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:XELA) fell to all time lows; down 47.76% or 1.17 to 1.28.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 6.27% to 17.97.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.08% or 1.15 to $1508.35 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in September rose 3.20% or 1.68 to hit $54.22 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract rose 1.59% or 0.91 to trade at $58.29 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.20% to 1.1200, while USD/JPY fell 0.34% to 105.69.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.06% at 97.375.
See also:
Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 0.39%
U.K. stocks lower at close of trade; Investing.com United Kingdom 100 down 0.47%
The U.S. dollar fell slightly on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said America will cut all ties with Chinese tech company Huawei in a signal that the tit-for-tat trade war is unlikely to end anytime soon.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.1% to 97.417 by 10:48 AM ET (14:48 GMT).
The news came after Beijing halted its purchases of U.S. farming goods on Monday. Trade tensions escalated this week after the U.S. officially declared China a currency manipulator and China allowed the yuan to weaken to below 7 to the dollar.
In additions, Huawei was blacklisted in May for national security concerns, which prevented American companies from doing business with the tech giant.
The Japanese yen, which is seen as a safe-haven in times of market turmoil, rose with USD/JPY down 0.4% to 105.59.
The euro inched up slightly, held back by political uncertainty in Italy after Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called for a vote of no confidence in the governing coalition, which could lead to snap elections. EUR/USD rose 0.2% to 1.1198.
Meanwhile GBP/USD fell 0.5% to 1.2073 after second-quarter GDP fell 0.2%, increasing recession fears on the back of Brexit uncertainty.
See also:
A week of easing by global central banks to shield their economies from China’s devaluation is giving gold longs hope of further gains in the yellow metal, despite a retreat from six-year highs.
Spot gold, reflective of trades in bullion, dipped under the key $1,500 bullish mark, hitting $1,497.37 per ounce by 2:25 PM ET (18:25 GMT), down $3.82, or 0.3%. On Wednesday, bullion’s hit $1,510.38, its highest price since May 2013.
Gold futures for December delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, settled down $1 at $1,508.50. December gold surged to $1,522.35 on Wednesday, a peak since Aug 2013.
For the week though, gold futures were up 3.5% and spot gold 4%, the precious metal’s largest gain in seven weeks.
And despite the market clambering down from the week’s highs, prices managed to stay within the bullish $1,500 territory on optimism that the Fed and other central banks will engage in deeper rate cuts to offset the impact of the trade war.
Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at FOREX.com, said:
“In addition to fresh U.S. data, there will be some very important macro pointers from China, Germany and the Eurozone to look forward to as well in the coming week. If the data in these regions remain soft, then expect to see fresh falls in safe-haven bond yields, which could have repercussions for the wider financial markets.”
The relative attractiveness of gold as a haven asset increased further Friday as German and U.K. government bond yields again flirted with all-time lows, on a mixture of economic and political concerns.
The British economy contracted in the second quarter, its worst performance since 2012, as the U.K. continues to struggle to reach an amenable agreement with the European Union before its scheduled departure on Oct. 31.
Additionally, Bloomberg reported overnight that the U.S. is holding off on giving permissions to American companies to go back to doing business with Huawei. The report, while unsurprising, highlighted the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
The dispute’s effects were also in evidence as Chinese producer prices shrank in year-on-year terms for the first time in three years, adding pressure for Beijing to pump more economic stimulus.
Jigar Trivedi, commodities analyst at Anand Rathi Shares & Stock Brokers, said:
“The trade spat is driving the market crazy. We don’t rule out technical corrections, but $1,500 is now the new normal unless trade relations take a turn in a right direction.”
Core producer prices in the U.S. also showed the first drop in factory gate inflation in two years, reinforcing arguments for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates further.
Although second-quarter growth in Japan topped expectations, analysts said the good news was likely to be temporary as trade tensions and a pending tax hike threatened its export-driven economy.
See also:
Saudi Arabia’s warning that it won’t tolerate another oil price crash has affected the market more than expected, with crude prices rebounding a second day in a row on Friday, even after the Paris-based International Energy Agency slashed its reading for global oil demand growth.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude settled up $1.96, or 3.7%, at $54.50 per barrel.
London-traded Brent crude, the benchmark for oil outside of the U.S., rose $1.10, or 1.9%, to $58.48.
WTI has leapt nearly 7% in two days of trading, while Brent has recovered almost 4%.
Prior to that, oil prices were dragged to 7-month lows by data showing a surprise weekly jump in U.S. crude stockpiles and heightened trade war worries.
Despite Friday’s rebound, the U.S. crude benchmark ended the week about 2% lower, while its U.K. peer lost nearly 6%.
One reason for oil’s partial recovery is the warning by an unidentified Saudi official who told Bloomberg that the kingdom won’t simply stand by to watch the torrid selloff of the past week and was exploring all options to halt the plunge.
Further bolstering crude was data on Friday showing that U.S. drillers cut six oil rigs this week, bringing the total rig count down to 764, the lowest since February 2018. That is the most weekly declines in a row since March when drillers also cut rigs for six consecutive weeks.
Bloomberg reported that, as OPEC’s biggest producer, the Saudis plan to keep their own exports at below 7 million barrels per day from next month. In good times, the kingdom can produce up to 10.3 million bpd, and now certainly isn’t one of those times.
The IEA trimmed its estimates for global oil demand growth in 2019 by 100,000 barrels a day to 1.1 million a day, implying a growth rate of about 1.1%. The outlook for 2020 was lowered by 50,000 barrels a day to 1.3 million a day, suggesting demand growth of 1.3%.
To achieve lower exports, Riyadh’s state-run Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known as Aramco, will cut customer allocations across all regions by a total of 700,000 barrels a day in September.
For North American customers, the kingdom will send about 300,000 barrels bpd less than they nominated for oil scheduled to load in September. Reductions to European buyers will be larger and there will also be modest cuts to Asian buyers, although no details were available as yet.
The Paris-based IEA, meanwhile, reported demand growth at its lowest level since the financial crisis of 2008.
World consumption increased by just 520,000 barrels a day from January through May — about half the rate seen the previous year and the slowest for the period since 2008, the agency said.
But some analysts priced down the risk in the IEA’s numbers, saying the agency was regurgitating earlier forecasts of falling growth. Phil Flynn, analyst at the Price Futures Group brokerage and a well-known oil bull, said:
“The International Energy Agency, known for their major underestimations of global demand, are warning of another global demand slowdown. While there has been some slowing, oil demand is not that bad. Economic data out of China on exports might be a sign that we may already be reversing the recent softness in the market. Now with OPEC cutting back more and global supply tightening, we are pricing in too much of a slowdown.”
See also:
- Oil Prices Rise Despite IEA Report Showing Demand at 10-Year Low
- Oil rises on European stock draw despite demand slowdown forecast (Hellenic Shipping News)
Natural Gas
No report this week.
.
