Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 2.37%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Oil & Gas, Technology and Industrials sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.37%, while the S&P 500 index declined 2.59%, and the NASDAQ Composite index declined 3.00%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which rose 0.52% or 1.84 points to trade at 356.25 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) fell 0.95% or 2.22 points to end at 230.67 and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) was down 0.96% or 1.07 points to 110.84 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), which fell 4.62% or 9.82 points to trade at 202.64 at the close. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) declined 3.89% or 1.82 points to end at 44.96 and American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) was down 3.65% or 4.46 points to 117.81.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) which rose 2.19% to 151.49, Newmont Goldcorp Corp (NYSE:NEM) which was up 2.16% to settle at 39.32 and Intuit Inc (NASDAQ:INTU) which gained 1.10% to close at 278.74.
The worst performers were Foot Locker Inc (NYSE:FL) which was down 18.92% to 33.99 in late trade, L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) which lost 9.31% to settle at 17.53 andHasbro Inc (NASDAQ:HAS) which was down 8.94% to 104.13 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Fuwei Films Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:FFHL) which rose 217.77% to 6.2600, Liquid Media Group Ltd (NASDAQ:YVR) which was up 24.02% to settle at 1.563 and KemPharm Inc(NASDAQ:KMPH) which gained 22.89% to close at 0.89.
The worst performers were TuanChe ADR (NASDAQ:TC) which was down 31.32% to 2.61 in late trade, American Resources Corp Class A (NASDAQ:AREC) which lost 28.41% to settle at 0.80 and Craft Brew Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:BREW) which was down 20.60% to 10.29 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2543 to 443 and 20 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2289 fell and 381 advanced, while 67 ended unchanged.
Shares in Foot Locker Inc (NYSE:FL) fell to 52-week lows; losing 18.92% or 7.93 to 33.99. Shares in L Brands Inc (NYSE:LB) fell to 5-year lows; falling 9.31% or 1.80 to 17.53. Shares in Fuwei Films Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:FFHL) rose to 5-year highs; up 217.77% or 4.2900 to 6.2600. Shares in American Resources Corp Class A (NASDAQ:AREC) fell to 52-week lows; falling 28.41% or 0.32 to 0.80. Shares in Craft Brew Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:BREW) fell to 3-years lows; losing 20.60% or 2.67 to 10.29.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 19.12% to 19.87.
Gold Futures for December delivery was up 1.87% or 28.25 to $1536.75 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in October fell 2.53% or 1.40 to hit $53.95 a barrel, while the October Brent oil contract fell 1.32% or 0.79 to trade at $59.13 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.58% to 1.1142, while USD/JPY fell 0.95% to 105.41.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.52% at 97.550.
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Canada stocks lower at close of trade; S&P/TSX Composite down 1.33%
U.K. stocks lower at close of trade; Investing.com United Kingdom 100 down 0.35%
Stocks – Wall Street Plunges as Trumps Tells US Companies to Leave China
The U.S. dollar was flat on Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would keep an eye on the economy and act as needed, but failed to give any new guidance on interest rates.
“We will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion,” Powell said in prepared remarks at the Fed’s Jackson Hole, Wyom. summit. The economy is in a “favorable place” he said, but the trade war puts it in a “complex, turbulent” situation. The central bank is at an unprecedented place as it tries to set monetary policy to help the economy overcome the tensions caused by the U.S.-China trade war.
The slowdown has been visible for months in China, Japan and Europe, and is just starting to reach U.S. manufacturing with the IHS Markit purchasing managers indexof activity dropping below 50 for the first time in nearly 10 years in August.
Still, domestic economic strength continues, with inflation nearing 2% and and the job market at historically strong levels.
Powell seemed to push back against pressure to cut rates aggressively. U.S. President Donald Trump has called for a full percentage point cut and markets expect the central bank to keep easing its monetary policy.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, inched up 0.1% to 98.132 as of 10:15 AM ET (14:15 GMT).
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It didn’t go quite the way markets thought, but the longs in gold weren’t complaining.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell’s decision to leave markets in suspense over the central bank’s upcoming rate moves ought to have led to lower gold prices on Friday. But China’s announcement of new tariffs on U.S. products and President Donald Trump’s demand that U.S. companies pull out of the republic made sure of a rally in the yellow metal instead.
The biggest rally in three weeks, in fact.
Spot gold, reflective of trades in bullion, was up $29.77, or 2%, at $1,527.89 per ounce by 2:25 PM ET (18:25 GMT). Bullion has occasionally moved back and forth between $1,500 this week as some investors bet the Fed wouldn’t add to its dovish tone ahead of its Jackson Hole conference.
Gold futures for December delivery, traded on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, settled up $29.10, or 1.9%, at $1,537.60 per ounce in post-settlement trade.
It was gold’s largest rally in three weeks, and the first in a while, driven by safe-haven buying over China. The precious metal had spent much of early April to mid-August in range-bound trading as longs in the market sought signs of Fed rate cuts to add to positions.
The U.S. economy is in a “favorable place,” and the Fed will “act as appropriate” to keep the current economic expansion on track, Powell said Friday in a speech at the Fed’s annual confab of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Rate cuts weaken the U.S. dollar, making commodities priced in the greenback cheaper for the rest of the world. Dollar-denominated prices of raw materials such as gold often automatically rise after a rate cut, adjusting to the phenomenon.
The Fed cut rates last month for the first time in a decade, dropping 25 basis points. Markets are expecting the central bank to do a similar reduction in September. But the Fed chief has faced relentless criticism and pressure from Trump, who accuses Powell’s slow action in cutting rates as the real reason for the slower-than-desired growth of the U.S. economy.
China was, meanwhile, retaliating against U.S. plans to levy an additional 10% tax on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, including consumer electronics, through two stages of tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.
That got Trump livid, prompting him to order U.S. companies to move their manufacturing facilities in the People’s Republic somewhere else. It was not known if any of the firms would comply with the president. Trump also warned of additional retaliation.
Gold’s rally on Friday saw the futures contract rise about 1% on the week. It’s up 7% so far in August and 20% for the year.
See also:
- Gold Prices Turn Higher After China Tariff Retaliation, Powell On Radar
Gold Prices Get Boost From Tariff News (ETF Trends)
It was bad enough that Fed Chair Jay Powell decided not to give investors a clue on where he thought interest rates were headed.
China and President Donald Trump had to make it a one-two punch for oil and other markets on Friday. China announced a new 10% tariff on $75 billion of U.S. products, including crude, and President Trump got mad and announced he was ordering U.S. companies to move their manufacturing facilities somewhere else.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.18, or 2.1%, to settle at $54.17 per barrel, reacting to the lack of clarity by the Federal Reserve on monetary policy as well as Beijing’s latest salvo in its tit-for-tat tariffs war with Washington.
London-traded Brent crude, the benchmark for oil outside of the U.S., slid 58 cents, or 0.8%, to $59.34, staying below the key $60 per barrel level.
Barring Friday’s move, oil prices could spend an extended time boxed in sideways trading, with the occasional spike up or down, due to the countervailing forces of the trade war and supply outages. Phil Flynn said:
“Oil prices have entered the rocky ranges, trapped in a world of wild moves but still getting nowhere, as it appears lost in a range somewhere. Of course, the moves are compelling because whatever way we break out of this range could mean a major move. We think it will be to the upside, but technically it could be a big move to the downside.”
The U.S. economy is in a “favorable place” and the Fed will “act as appropriate” to keep the current economic expansion on track, Powell said on Friday in remarks that gave few clues about whether the central bank will cut interest rates at its next meeting or not.
Rate cuts weaken the U.S. dollar, making commodities priced in the greenback cheaper for the rest of the world. Dollar-denominated prices of raw materials such as oil often automatically rise after a rate cut, adjusting to the phenomenon.
The Fed cut rates last month for the first time in a decade, dropping 25-basis points. Markets are expecting the central bank to do a similar reduction in September, but Powell has so far given little signs it would comply. The Fed chair has faced relentless criticism and pressure from President Donald Trump who accuses Powell’s slow action in cutting rates as the real reason for the slower-than-desired growth of the U.S. economy.
China was, meanwhile, retaliating against U.S. plans to levy an additional 10% tax on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, including consumer electronics, through two stages of tariffs scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15.
China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement, adding that its retaliatory tariffs would also take effect in two stages on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15:
“China’s decision to implement additional tariffs was forced by the U.S.’s unilateralism and protectionism.”
Hours later, the president ordered companies in the United States to stop doing business with China and warned of additional retaliation.
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Natural Gas
No report this week.
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