Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.02%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Healthcare, Technology and Consumer Services sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.02% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index added 0.26%, and the NASDAQ Composite index added 0.48%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which rose 3.76% or 5.00 points to trade at 137.96 at the close. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) added 1.19% or 1.57 points to end at 133.00 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was up 1.18% or 1.70 points to 145.96 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which fell 1.95% or 1.18 points to trade at 59.35 at the close. Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) declined 1.90% or 1.37 points to end at 70.77 and Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) was down 1.77% or 6.31 points to 351.00.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) which rose 7.17% to 20.04, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) which was up 4.72% to settle at 341.79 and Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) which gained 4.50% to close at 94.03.
The worst performers were Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS) which was down 7.64% to 16.68 in late trade, Albemarle Corp (NYSE:ALB) which lost 4.78% to settle at 67.98 and News Corp B (NASDAQ:NWS) which was down 4.06% to 13.23 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Micronet Enertec Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:MICT) which rose 54.32% to 1.000, Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS) which was up 36.11% to settle at 5.88 and Truecar Inc (NASDAQ:TRUE) which gained 30.96% to close at 4.78.
The worst performers were AnaptysBio Inc (NASDAQ:ANAB) which was down 71.85% to 10.18 in late trade, Waitr Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:WTRH) which lost 38.18% to settle at 0.28 and Therapix Biosciences Ltd (NASDAQ:TRPX) which was down 28.16% to 1.76 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1455 to 1397 and 95 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1433 rose and 1202 declined, while 99 ended unchanged.
Shares in Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) rose to all time highs; rising 4.50% or 4.05 to 94.03. Shares in Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) rose to all time highs; gaining 1.18% or 1.70 to 145.96. Shares in AnaptysBio Inc (NASDAQ:ANAB) fell to all time lows; down 71.85% or 25.98 to 10.18. Shares in Waitr Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:WTRH) fell to all time lows; losing 38.18% or 0.17 to 0.28. Shares in Therapix Biosciences Ltd (NASDAQ:TRPX) fell to all time lows; falling 28.16% or 0.69 to 1.76.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 5.18% to 12.07 a new 6-months low.
Gold Futures for December delivery was down 0.46% or 6.80 to $1459.60 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in December rose 0.51% or 0.29 to hit $57.44 a barrel, while the January Brent oil contract rose 0.51% or 0.32 to trade at $62.61 a barrel.
EUR/USD was down 0.27% to 1.1019, while USD/JPY rose 0.01% to 109.28.
The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.23% at 98.218.
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Markets Bounce Back to Close Week Near Record Highs (ETF Trends)
The U.S. dollar was higher on Friday as U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that he plans to sign a trade deal with China, but had not yet decided if he would roll back tariffs.
China had stated Thursday that the two nations had agreed to phase out tariffs as part of the anticipated phase one trade agreement.
Trump said on Friday that he would not fully roll back tariffs, but that a deal could be signed with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Iowa by the end of the month, adding that China wants to make a deal.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, jumped 0.2% to 98.180 as of 10:30 AM ET (14:30 GMT).
The safe haven Japanese yen was higher with USD/JPY down 0.1% to 109.17.
Elsewhere, sterling was flat just a day after the Bank of England left its key interest rate unchanged at 0.75% and cut its growth forecasts. GBP/USD was steady at 1.2809.
The euro continued to trade lower, with EUR/USD slipping 0.3% to 1.1019 after forecasts from the European Commission lowered expectations for any kind of stimulus in the struggling bloc.
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Global markets can’t decide where the U.S.-China negotiations are going, yet hopes for a trade deal remained alive on Friday, prompting gold to fall again for its biggest weekly loss in three years.
Gold futures for December delivery on New York’s COMEX settled down $3.50, or 0.2%, at $1,462.90 per ounce after plumbing three-month lows for a second-straight day at $1,457.10. For the week, it fell 3.2%, its most for a week since November 2016.
Spot gold, which tracks live trades in bullion, was down $5.31, or 0.4%, at $1,462.51 per ounce by 2:15 PM ET (19:15 GMT). Its session low was $1,456.33, a bottom since August 5.
“It’s been a tough week for gold bugs,” TD Securities said in a note. “With algorithmic selling still the order of the day, which further saps liquidity from the market, the overextended long positions are in for more pain ahead.”
The Canadian bank-backed brokerage estimated that the weighted average breakeven entry price for longs on COMEX stood at $1,434 per ounce, suggesting more pain ahead.
“The fact that gold’s preliminary open interest appears to have actually crept up, suggesting fresh shorts and sticky length, supports our view that more long liquidations could be ahead,” it said.
Still, not all might be lost for those still hopeful for a gold comeback, TD Securities said.
“An interesting point of note, our analysis of the weekly positioning deltas highlights that a significant amount of length has been accumulated in the $1,425/oz – $1,450/oz range, with an estimate of net 54,000 plus lots built in that region in the last year.”
On the U.S.-China trade front, President Donald Trump poured cold water on remarks from Chinese commerce minister Gao Feng a day ago that Beijing and Washington have agreed to phase out their tit-for-tat tariffs.
“They’d like to have a rollback, I haven’t agreed to anything,” Trump told reporters. “China would like to get somewhat of a rollback — not a complete rollback, because they know I won’t do it.”
For added measure, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said after Gao’s remarks on Thursday that “if there’s a phase one trade deal, there are going to be tariff agreements and concessions.”
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It ain’t over til the Chinese lady sings. The tweaked saying might be most apt to reflect China’s influence now over world trade and global markets, as oil prices swung again Friday before ending the week higher on the odds of a U.S.-Sino trade deal happening.
West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for New York-traded crude, and London’s Brent, the global gauge for oil, moved as much as 3% between the highs and lows of the session in one of their wildest variances in a day since September.
At the end, WTI settled up just 9 cents, or 0.2%, at $57.24 per barrel after swinging by $1.60. It settled the week up 1.9%.
London’s Brent crude settled up 22 cents, or 0.4%, at $62.51 after a swing of more than $1.80. It finished the week up 1.3%.
“Oil is making a series of daily reversals,” observed Olivier Jakob of Zug, Switzerland-based oil risk consultancy PetroMatrix.
“The headlines of Wednesday were about delays to a possible meeting between (U.S. President Donald) Trump and (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping). The headline yesterday morning was that a framework agreement had been found; the headline yesterday evening was that there was some internal resistance in the US administration for that agreement. Today we will surely get more contradictory headlines about China.”
True enough, Trump poured cold water on optimism that it was a matter of when and not if for a trade deal after remarks from Chinese commerce minister Gao Feng a day ago that Beijing and Washington have agreed to phase out their tit-for-tat tariffs.
“They’d like to have a rollback, I haven’t agreed to anything,” Trump told reporters Friday. “China would like to get somewhat of a rollback — not a complete rollback, because they know I won’t do it.”
For added measure, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said after Gao’s remarks on Thursday that “if there’s a phase one trade deal, there are going to be tariff agreements and concessions.”
In oil’s bigger picture, China was again a dominant factor, with figures showing Chinese crude imports in October reached a new record high of 10.7 million barrels per day, up 1.5 million from a year ago. On a three-month average, imports were 1.11 million higher than a year ago.
Also of significance, U.S. energy firms reduced the number of operating oil for a third week in a row. There are 684 oil rigs now, the lowest since April 2017, after drillers cut seven rigs this week, data from industry firm Baker Hughes showed.
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Natural Gas (No report this week)
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