Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks lower at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average down 0.26%
U.S. stocks were lower after the close on Friday, as losses in the Technology, Industrials and Healthcare sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.26%, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.53%, and the NASDAQ Composite index fell 1.13%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE), which rose 1.23% or 0.44 points to trade at 36.22 at the close. Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) added 0.72% or 0.51 points to end at 71.48 and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) was up 0.61% or 0.33 points to 54.41 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), which fell 1.30% or 1.56 points to trade at 118.60 at the close. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) declined 1.30% or 1.81 points to end at 137.73 and Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) was down 1.16% or 0.97 points to 82.91.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) which rose 3.77% to 50.71, Emerson Electric Company (NYSE:EMR) which was up 3.44% to settle at 66.40 and Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) which gained 3.42% to close at 244.40.
The worst performers were Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) which was down 11.09% to 43.21 in late trade, Lam Research Corp (NASDAQ:LRCX) which lost 5.25% to settle at 230.08 and Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) which was down 5.22% to 49.43 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were BroadVision Inc (NASDAQ:BVSN) which rose 29.82% to 1.69, Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:TTPH) which was up 21.40% to settle at 5.730 and Tiziana Life Sciences PLC ADR (NASDAQ:TLSA) which gained 16.68% to close at 6.25.
The worst performers were Concert Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CNCE) which was down 36.68% to 6.25 in late trade, Histogenics Corp (NASDAQ:HSGX) which lost 30.77% to settle at 0.162 and Destination Maternity Corporation (NASDAQ:DEST) which was down 24.41% to 0.40 at the close.
Falling stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1634 to 1224 and 107 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1720 fell and 906 advanced, while 83 ended unchanged.
Shares in Concert Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CNCE) fell to all time lows; down 36.68% or 3.62 to 6.25. Shares in Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:TTPH) rose to 52-week highs; gaining 21.40% or 1.010 to 5.730. Shares in Destination Maternity Corporation (NASDAQ:DEST) fell to all time lows; falling 24.41% or 0.13 to 0.40.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was up 7.16% to 17.22.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.78% or 11.75 to $1503.45 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in November fell 0.43% or 0.24 to hit $56.17 a barrel, while the November Brent oil contract fell 1.37% or 0.86 to trade at $61.88 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.17% to 1.0940, while USD/JPY rose 0.13% to 107.95.
The US Dollar Index Futures was unchanged at 98.767.
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The U.S. dollar was flat on Friday after data showed that consumers spent less and companies cut their equipment orders in August.
Consumer spending on goods and services rose 0.1% in August, while durable goods orders inched up 0.2% compared to a rise of 2% in July, according to separate reports from the Commerce Department.
The numbers suggest that the economy is cooling after a strong acceleration in the second quarter, putting focus on next week’s monthly jobs report. Federal Reserve officials cut interest rates by a quarter point for the second time in two months due to slowing growth in the global economy and worries about trade.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was flat at 98.722 as of 11:04 AM ET (15:04 GMT).
The Japanese yen, which is seen as a safe haven in times of market turmoil, fell, with USD/JPYrising 0.3% to 108.14.
Sterling recovered from earlier lows, but still remained in the red after Ireland’s Tflnaiste Simon Coveney said that the EU was ready to negotiate, but that the U.K. had not yet sent a proposal for a Brexit deal. Uncertainty over Brexit remains as U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces political pressures at home. The U.K. is expected to leave the EU on Oct. 31.
The pound lost 0.1% to 1.2309, while EUR/USD rose 0.2% to 1.0947.
See also:
- Forex – Euro Hovers Above 2019 Lows; Pound Falls as BoE Hawk Softens
- NewsBreak: Sterling Falls as BoE’s Saunders Says Cuts May Be Needed
Gold futures returned to their pattern of weekly finishes in the red while clinging to the $1,500 support. Both futures and spot prices of the yellow metal slipped on Friday, after a tug of war between Yemen peace overtures and reported U.S. plans to curb Chinese activity on Wall Street.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled down $8.80, or 0.6%, at $1,506.40 per ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, Comex futures slid 0.8% after a 1% rebound the previous week, its only positive week in the last five
Spot gold, reflective of trades in bullion, was down $6.54, or 0.4%, at $1,498.02 at 2:37 PM ET (18:37 GMT).
Gold fell more steeply earlier in the day after its safe-haven edge was blunted by reports that Saudi Arabia would agree to a ceasefire in Yemen, where it has been fighting anti-government Houthi rebels for the last four years.
Peace in Yemen, the focal point of Middle East tensions that have drawn even more attention in recent years than the Palestinian-Israeli conflct, could result in a smaller war risk premium for oil and, consequently, gold prices.
Pulling gold back from the lows was a Bloomberg report that the White House is considering ways to limit investor portfolio flows into China.
The U.S. government was also considering de-listing Chinese companies from local exchanges and examining limits on Chinese companies included in stock indexes that are managed by American firms, Bloomberg reported.
The report came as officials from the two countries were set to return to trade negotiations on Oct. 10. The White House did not immediately respond to the report.
The stock market tumbled into the red Friday after the report.
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A spate of bearish triggers on Yemen, Iran and Chinese equities downed any hopes of a rebound in oil on Friday, setting U.S. crude up for its biggest weekly decline in more than two months.
It was a remarkable reversal for a market that only last Friday had its biggest weekly gain since mid-June.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled down 50 cents, or 0.9%, at $55.91 per barrel.
U.K. Brent oil settled down 83 cents, or 1.3%, at $61.91
For the week, WTI was down 3.8%, its most since the week to July 14. Brent lost 3.7% on the week, its sharpest weekly drop since the week ended Aug 4.
The market flipped earlier in the week after Saudi Arabia announced its oil production was back up and fully running from the Sept. 14 attack on its energy infrastructure, much faster than expected. What’s more, Riyadh also said it had an output capacity of more than 11 million barrels per day now, higher than before the attack.
Oil bears tightened their grip on the market on Friday after reports suggesting that Saudi Arabia would agree to a ceasefire in Yemen, where it has been fighting anti-government rebels for the last four years.
Peace in Yemen, the focal point of Middle East tensions that have drawn even more attention in recent years than the Palestinian-Israel conflct, could result in much less war risk premium for oil, pushing crude prices even lower.
Hot on the heels of the Yemen development were Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s remarks to Reuters that U.S. President Donald Trump had offered to lift all sanctions on Iran in return for talks. Trump tweeted later that he had agreed to no such thing.
But crude prices remained down anyway as the idea of Iran being allowed to freely export its oil leaves the market vulnerable to additional supplies for which it isn’t immediately prepared.
Iran said in May that it intends to produce at least 1.5 million bpd of crude if it is to enter a new nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers to end the sanctions on its oil. Prior to the sanctions, which came into force in November 2018, Iranian oil exports peaked at about 2.8 million bpd.
Aside from recurring production, the Islamic Republic also has millions of barrels of readily stored oil in bonded warehouses in China or floating offshore that could end up in short order on the global market.
Adding to oil’s weight on Friday was a Bloomberg report that the White House is considering ways to limit investor portfolio flows into China.
The stock market tumbled into the red Friday after the report.
The U.S. government was also considering de-listing Chinese companies from local exchanges and examining limits on Chinese companies included in stock indexes that are managed by American firms, Bloomberg reported.
The report came as officials from the two countries were set to return to trade negotiations on Oct. 10. The White House did not immediately respond to the report.
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Natural Gas – No report this week
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