Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks higher at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.66%
U.S. stocks were higher after the close on Friday, as gains in the Oil & Gas, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors led shares higher.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.66% to hit a new all time high, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.74%, and the NASDAQ Composite index gained 0.88%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 3.24% or 4.32 points to trade at 137.81 at the close. Meanwhile, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) added 2.47% or 5.67 points to end at 235.48 and Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) was up 1.85% or 0.97 points to 53.41 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), which fell 0.96% or 0.57 points to trade at 58.72 at the close. International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) declined 0.95% or 1.39 points to end at 145.39 and Salesforce.com Inc (NYSE:CRM) was down 0.71% or 1.55 points to 216.50.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) which rose 8.48% to 20.09, Centene Corp (NYSE:CNC) which was up 8.11% to settle at 70.48 and EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG) which gained 8.09% to close at 83.21.
The worst performers were Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) which was down 3.95% to 91.27 in late trade, Jack Henry & Associates Inc (NASDAQ:JKHY) which lost 1.44% to settle at 156.19 and Mettler-Toledo International Inc (NYSE:MTD) which was down 1.37% to 1280.79 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Yield10 Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ:YTEN) which rose 24.94% to 10.72, Orgenesis Inc (NASDAQ:ORGS) which was up 23.52% to settle at 5.62 and Moneygram Int (NASDAQ:MGI) which gained 22.63% to close at 8.020.
The worst performers were ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) which was down 62.13% to 10.41 in late trade, Orphazyme (NASDAQ:ORPH) which lost 32.71% to settle at 5.76 and SemiLEDS Corporation (NASDAQ:LEDS) which was down 22.41% to 7.930 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 2366 to 816 and 101 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 2197 rose and 1127 declined, while 128 ended unchanged.
Shares in EOG Resources Inc (NYSE:EOG) rose to 52-week highs; rising 8.09% or 6.23 to 83.21. Shares in Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) rose to 52-week highs; rising 1.85% or 0.97 to 53.41. Shares in ChemoCentryx Inc (NASDAQ:CCXI) fell to 52-week lows; losing 62.13% or 17.08 to 10.41. Shares in Orphazyme (NASDAQ:ORPH) fell to all time lows; falling 32.71% or 2.80 to 5.76.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 9.24% to 16.69.
Gold Futures for June delivery was up 0.89% or 16.15 to $1831.85 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in June rose 0.29% or 0.19 to hit $64.90 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract rose 0.25% or 0.17 to trade at $68.26 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.85% to 1.2166, while USD/JPY fell 0.45% to 108.58.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.80% at 90.205.
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- India stocks higher at close of trade; Nifty 50 up 0.67%
- Japan stocks higher at close of trade; Nikkei 225 up 0.09%
Australia stocks higher at close of trade; S&P/ASX 200 up 0.27%
The dollar edged lower in early European trade Friday, under modest pressure ahead of the monthly U.S. employment report which is expected to firm up expectations of a strong economic recovery.
At 2:55 AM ET (0755 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, was down 0.1% at 90.905, near its lowest level this week.
EUR/USD traded largely flat at 1.2060, having gained 0.5% Thursday, USD/JPY rose 0.1% to 109.16, the risk-sensitive AUD/USD fell 0.2% to 0.7766, while USD/CAD rose 0.2% to 1.2176, having fallen to a 3-1/2-year low of 1.2145 overnight, helped by the Bank of Canada‘s recent tapering of its asset purchases and its shift to more hawkish guidance.
The greenback has traded in narrow ranges Friday, with traders focusing on the release of U.S. payrolls data, at 1230 GMT, which are expected to confirm the U.S. labor market is on a solid path towards recovery from the pandemic.
Economists polled by Investing.com earlier in the week expected, on average, 978,000 new U.S. jobs in April, after gains of 916,000 in March.
That said, expectations are likely even more elevated now after data on Thursday showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell below 500,000 last week for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
“The recent declines in jobless claims – as well as many surveys (NFIB’s job openings at a record high) – suggest that payrolls growth is accelerating. We would thus lean towards positive surprises in coming months,” said analysts at Nordea, in a note.
While strong economic data could lead to more risk taking as traders’ confidence grows, it could also lead to higher Treasury yields, helping the dollar, as the market anticipates the Federal Reserve tightening its monetary policies sooner than previously expected.
However, for now, most traders seem to be prepared to take the Federal Reserve at its word that stimulus tapering will not be on the agenda any time soon.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD rose 0.1% to 1.3902, with sterling struggling to post any serious gains despite the Bank of England slowing the pace of its bond-purchasing program at its meeting Thursday.
Political uncertainty is capping any sterling gains as the Scots go to the polls, potentially triggering a battle between the Scottish National Party and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over another independence vote.
That said, “regardless of the result, most don’t expect an imminent vote on independence. Given a second referendum (if one happens) is probably years away, there’s limited need for such a risk premia to be priced into sterling,” said analysts at ING, in a note.
Also, USD/CNY rose 0.1% to 6.4623, just above a two-month low, after China’s trade data for April came in better than expected, with exports growing 32.3% year-on-year and imports growing 43.1% year-on-year.
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Gold had its best week in six months as shockingly low U.S. payrolls numbers for April, coupled with the yellow metal’s belated catch up to inflationary trends, gave it a gain 3.5% on the week.
Price-wise, gold was nearing peaks last seen 12 weeks ago, closing in on the $1,850 per ounce level, that could set up a return to $1,900 and ultimately the $2,000 record highs attained in August.
“Gold’s short-term momentum could make a run towards the $1,857 level, which could be followed by a move towards the $1,925 resistance level,” said Ed Moya, head of research for Americas at online trading platform OANDA.
Benchmark gold futures on New York’s Comex settled up $15.60, or 0.9%, at $1,831.30 an ounce. The session high was $1,844.40. For the week, gold futures showed a 3.2% gain, the highest since the week ended Oct. 29.
The spot price of gold rose by $16.35, or 0.9%, to $1,831.53, after a peak at $1,843.36. For the week, spot gold printed a much higher gain of 3.5%.
Traders and fund managers sometimes decide on the direction for gold by looking at the spot price – which reflects bullion for prompt delivery – versus futures.
“Gold appears poised to hit $1,850 which will be the 200-Day Simple Moving Average,” technical chartist Sunil Kumar Dixit said, referring the spot price. “From there, it could head up to $1,877, which would mark as a 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the move from the $2,075 record high to lows of $1,676.”
After months of anemic prices, gold suddenly broke out on Thursday, playing catch-up to the rally in a horde of commodities from oil to copper, and even coffee, that had reacted to inflationary pressures building since the start of the year.
Friday’s rally in gold came after the Labor Department reported that the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent in April as the country added a sharply lower-than-forecast 266,000 jobs in a pandemic-suppressed market.
The United States lost more than 21 million jobs between March and April 2020, at the height of business lockdowns forced by the coronavirus. More than 8 million of those jobs have not returned, officials say.
Economists had expected as many as 1 million new U.S. jobs for April, building on March’s gains of 916,000. That made what the Labor Department reported disappointing to many.
“There’s a bit of disbelief around this number,” said economist Adam Button, commenting on a post on ForexLive. “I wonder if this is a game-changer and shifts the conversation towards the Fed’s baseline about rates staying very low for a very long time along with only-transitory inflation.”
The Federal Reserve has kept U.S. interest rates at between zero and 0.25% since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic last year, with Chairman Jerome Powell arguing that the rise in price pressures in recent months were temporary trends that would abate over time.
Analysts said while the latest U.S. jobs report itself was a damper for inflation, it nevertheless kept up the theme of monetary accommodation by the Fed, which was positive for gold.
“Gold’s best friend is Fed Chair Powell and other doves that remain committed to the idea that temporary inflation won’t persist,” said OANDA’s Moya.
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Oil put in a second week of gains as crude prices reentered range-bound trading on Friday on concerns about slowing U.S. jobs growth and the Covid situation in No. 3 energy consuming nation India.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for U.S. crude, settled up 19 cents, or 0.3%, at $64.90 per barrel. WTI hit an eight-week high of $66.75 on Wednesday, before snapping a four-day rally. For the week, it showed a 2% gain.
London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for crude, also settled up 19 cents, or 0.3%, at $68.28. Brent hit an eight-week high of $69.94 on Wednesday, before losing its momentum. For the week, it was up 1.5%.
“Oil prices might have a positive second consecutive week, but it is nothing to get energy traders excited that oil will break away from its tightening trading range,” said Ed Moya, head of America’s research at online trading platform OANDA.
Pessimism grew again on the outlook for oil after the Labor Department reported on Friday that the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent in April as the country added a sharply lower-than-forecast 266,000 jobs in a pandemic-suppressed market.
Economists had expected as many as 1 million new U.S. jobs for last month, building on to the March gains of 916,000. That made what the Labor Department reported disappointing to many.
“There’s a bit of disbelief around this number,” economist Adam Button said in a post on ForexLive. “I wonder if this is a game-changer and shifts the conversation towards the Fed’s baseline about rates staying very low for a very long time along with only-transitory inflation.”
Expectations of runaway U.S. inflation in an economy sprinting from Covid-19 had fueled a rally across commodities since the start of the year, despite Fed attempts to assuage concerns that rising price pressures were only temporary.
The April jobs report not only brought those lofty expectations down but also delivered a sound reminder to the oil market that the employment crisis in the world’s largest economy was far from fixed. For the record, some 21 million U.S. jobs were lost between March and April 2020, at the height of business lockdowns forced by the coronavirus, and more than 8 million of those have not returned.
“Oil’s short-term outlook remains very mixed,” OANDA’S Moya said. “India’s COVID situation could be approaching a peak, with one model eyeing 20,000 cases per day by the end of June.”
India reported another record rise in coronavirus cases on Friday, logging more than 21.4 million confirmed infections and at least 234,083 deaths since the start of the break – with both case counts and deaths crossing the halfway mark in the United States, the top infected country.
India’s Covid crisis could slash an extra 575,000 barrels per day of oil liquids demand in April and 915,000 bpd in May 2021, disturbing the almost-balanced global oil market and building a sizable glut, Rystad Energy warned earlier this week.
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Natural Gas Prices Jump On Smaller-Than-Expected U.S. Inventory Build
The U.S. benchmark natural gas price reversed losses from earlier on Thursday and turned higher after the Energy Information Administration reported a smaller-than-forecast injection into storage.
As of 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, the price of natural gas at Henry Hub was up by 2.34 percent at $2.754/ MMBtu. At the start of trading on Thursday, the price was at $2.688/ MMBtu, down from Wednesday’s close at $2.776/ MMBtu.
The EIA’s weekly natural gas storage report showed today that working gas in storage was 1,883 billion cubic feet (Bcf) at the end of the week to April 16. This represents a net increase of 38 Bcf from the previous week.
A Reuters poll had expected an injection of 49 bcf for the week to April 16, which would have been higher than normal.
The actual EIA estimate, however, came in very close to the five-year (2016-2020) average injection of 37 bcf.
As per the EIA data, natural gas stocks in the United States at the end of the week to April 16 were 251 Bcf less than last year at this time and 12 Bcf above the five-year average of 1,871 Bcf.
At 1,883 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
Natural gas prices were also up on Thursday amid continued record exports of pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) out of America, as well as cooler weather forecasts for the coming days, which is expected to drive heating demand higher.
“A strong late season cold shot continues to impact the eastern 2/3 of the country with rain, snow, and chilly lows of 20s to 40s for strong national demand, coldest over the N. Plains/Midwest, and interior Northeast,” Natgasweather.com said on Thursday. Overall, demand for heating is expected to be high through Sunday-Monday, and turn low after that.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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India stocks higher at close of trade; Nifty 50 up 0.67%
India stocks higher at close of trade; Nifty 50 up 0.67%
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