Written by Investing.com Staff, Investing.com
U.S. stocks mixed at close of trade; Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.69%
U.S. stocks were mixed after the close on Friday, as gains in the Consumer Goods, Utilities and Financials sectors led shares higher while losses in the Technology, Basic Materials and Telecoms sectors led shares lower.
At the close in NYSE, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.69%, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.33%, and the NASDAQ Composite index lost 0.06%.
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The best performers of the session on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), which rose 15.53% or 20.75 points to trade at 154.35 at the close. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) added 1.49% or 5.94 points to end at 404.81 and Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) was up 1.43% or 1.90 points to 134.92 in late trade.
The worst performers of the session were Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), which fell 1.39% or 3.04 points to trade at 216.30 at the close. Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) declined 0.91% or 2.27 points to end at 248.30 and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) was down 0.61% or 1.64 points to 265.05.
The top performers on the S&P 500 were Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) which rose 15.53% to 154.35, CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX) which was up 6.74% to settle at 127.48 and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) which gained 3.78% to close at 32.94.
The worst performers were FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) which was down 3.42% to 292.59 in late trade, Helmerich and Payne Inc (NYSE:HP) which lost 2.28% to settle at 33.45 and Waters Corporation (NYSE:WAT) which was down 2.08% to 337.43 at the close.
The top performers on the NASDAQ Composite were Ikonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IKNX) which rose 63.01% to 18.42, Fuwei Films Holdings Co Ltd (NASDAQ:FFHL) which was up 38.27% to settle at 12.320 and Alfi Inc (NASDAQ:ALF) which gained 32.14% to close at 16.980.
The worst performers were Globus Maritime Ltd (NASDAQ:GLBS) which was down 26.71% to 4.060 in late trade, Oasis Midstream Partners LP (NASDAQ:OMP) which lost 14.25% to settle at 23.95 and Biomea Fusion Inc (NASDAQ:BMEA) which was down 13.49% to 13.47 at the close.
Rising stocks outnumbered declining ones on the New York Stock Exchange by 1730 to 1434 and 128 ended unchanged; on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, 1830 rose and 1592 declined, while 173 ended unchanged.
Shares in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) rose to all time highs; rising 15.53% or 20.75 to 154.35. Shares in Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) rose to 52-week highs; rising 3.78% or 1.20 to 32.94. Shares in Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) rose to all time highs; rising 15.53% or 20.75 to 154.35. Shares in Ikonics Corporation (NASDAQ:IKNX) rose to 5-year highs; up 63.01% or 7.12 to 18.42. Shares in Alfi Inc (NASDAQ:ALF) rose to all time highs; up 32.14% or 4.130 to 16.980. Shares in Biomea Fusion Inc (NASDAQ:BMEA) fell to all time lows; down 13.49% or 2.10 to 13.47.
The CBOE Volatility Index, which measures the implied volatility of S&P 500 options, was down 2.19% to 15.62 a new 52-week low.
Gold Futures for August delivery was up 0.20% or 3.50 to $1780.20 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in commodities trading, Crude oil for delivery in August rose 0.91% or 0.67 to hit $73.97 a barrel, while the August Brent oil contract rose 0.69% or 0.52 to trade at $76.08 a barrel.
EUR/USD was up 0.06% to 1.1937, while USD/JPY fell 0.06% to 110.79.
The US Dollar Index Futures was down 0.01% at 91.787.
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The dollar edged marginally lower in early European trade Friday, as traders warily awaited the release of key inflation data for clues over future Federal Reserve policy.
At 2 AM ET (0600 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded less than 0.1% lower at 91.763, off last week’s high of 92.408 but substantially above the levels below 90 that it had fallen to in May.
USD/JPY was flat at 110.88, EUR/USD was up 0.1% at 1.1939, while the risk-sensitive AUD/USD was up 0.1% at 0.7591.
The dollar received a jolt higher last week after the Federal Reserve brought forward its median forecasts for interest rates hikes, but subsequent comments from Chairman Jerome Powell over inflation pressures still being temporary in nature have soothed market nerves over the potential for early moves by the central bank to rein in its very accommodative monetary policies.
There appear to be two camps within the Fed, although most of the coalition seem to be sticking to Powell’s script that the surge in consumer prices will fade. For example, New York Fed President John Williams said on Thursday that he sees inflation heading back toward the 2% target next year. Cleveland President Loretta Mester and Boston’s Eric Rosengren are slated to round off a full week of public appearances by Fed officials later Friday.
Of more interest may be the release of the core personal consumption expenditures index, at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT), into focus. This is seen as the Fed’s favorite gauge of inflation, and is expected to show year-on-year gains of 3.4% in May, climbing from the 3.1% recorded the previous month.
Elsewhere, GBP/USD was marginally higher at 1.3928 after weakening during the previous session as the Bank of England kept its own easy monetary policy unchanged, warning against “premature tightening” despite a marked improvement to its forecasts for the U.K. economy.
“The Bank of England’s latest statement is a little more upbeat than might have been expected, but crucially offers no new clues on rate hike timing,” said analysts at ING. “We’re still expecting the first rate rise in early 2023, on the assumption inflationary pressures ease through the middle of 2022.”
The BoE is set to release its Quarterly Bulletin later in the session.
Additionally, USD/MXN rose 0.2% to 19.884, rebounding from Thursday’s two-low low after Mexico’s central bank raised its interest rates for the first time since late 2018 in a surprise move.
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Gold clinched on Friday its first weekly gain in four and since its unceremonious fall from $1,900 levels. But the difference was hardly something for longs in the yellow metal to crow about.
Front-month gold on New York’s Comex settled at $1,777.80, up just $1.10 or 0.1% on the day. The gain on the week was slightly less anemic, at $8.80 or 0.5%.
It was a woeful previous three weeks for gold longs who watched miserably as the benchmark futures contract in gold cascaded from five-month highs of just over $1,919 to a seven-week low of just above 1,761 at one point. That was a loss of almost $160 or more than 8%.
In Friday’s trade, the spot price of gold hovered at $1,779 late afternoon in New York. Traders and fund managers sometimes decide on the direction for gold by looking at the spot price – which reflects bullion for prompt delivery – instead of futures.
Conviction has become a rare commodity in gold as the average long investor tried to stay true to the yellow metal through its travails of the past six months.
Since January, gold has been on a tough ride that actually began in August last year – when it came off record highs above $2,000 and meandered for a few months before stumbling into a systemic decay from November, when the first breakthroughs in COVID-19 vaccine efficiencies were announced. At one point, gold raked a near 11-month bottom at under $1,674.
Almost becoming a joke as well is the argument that gold was an effective hedge against inflation, or the best store of value in times of financial or political troubles.
The key U.S. inflation gauge monitored by the Federal Reserve rose for a third month in a row in May while personal income and consumer sentiment fell, according to data on Friday that demonstrated growing price pressures against weaker buying from Americans.
Cumulatively, that did bunk for gold, as most data on inflation and other insecurities have over the past few months.
“Gold will likely continue to stabilize going forward as the majority of Fed Chair Powell’s policymakers agree with him that inflation will be transitory,” Ed Moya, analyst at online broker OANDA, said.
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Crude prices jumped another 3% for the week as market bulls tested the patience of consumers even as the Saudi Oil Minister, who heads OPEC+, muttered concerns about global inflation.
New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for U.S. oil, soared to as high as $74.25 per barrel, a peak not seen since 2018, before settling at $74.05. While the rise on the day was just 75 cents or 1%, WTI gained 3% for the week, bringing consolidated gains over the past five weeks to 17%. For the year, WTI shows an uptick of 52%.
London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for oil, also hit its highest since 2018, at $76.20 per barrel, before finishing the session at $76.18, up 62 cents or 0.8%. Brent rose 3.6% gain on the week, bringing cumulative gains over the past five weeks to 15%. For the year, it is up 47%.
Crude’s latest unhinged rally came as bulls salivated over the prospects of what the 23-nation OPEC+ would do at next week’s monthly meeting of the oil producing coalition.
OPEC+ – which groups the 13-member Saudi-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its 10 non-member allies steered by Russia – will almost certainly will raise August export quotas for crude at the meeting. But the exact amount to be hiked remains unknown until the July 1 meeting. So far, what’s been reported is that it is considering a 500,000 barrels per day hike, after agreeing to a 440,000-bpd increase in July.
But it would not be surprising to hear output hawks such as Russia demand a rise as much as 700,000 to 800,000 bpd for August, given that OPEC+ is still withholding 5.8 million barrels daily from the market in supply cuts that began 14 months ago at the height of Covid-19 outbreak when WTI and Brent were trading at an average of $26 a barrel. Shortly after the cuts were decided, WTI even went to minus $40 at one point.
With crude prices having trebled since, major consumers such as India, the third largest oil importer, have been imploring Saudi Arabia to raise production. In the U.S., the world’s largest destination for oil, pump prices of gasoline are already at 7-year highs above $3 per gallon.
The Paris-based International Energy Agency, which looks after the interest of Western oil importing nations, has urged OPEC+ to start tapping its spare production capacity to bolster supply as demand rebounds.
Even Saudi Oil Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, who chairs each OPEC+ meeting, surprised many by acknowledging on Thursday that crude prices may have risen too much, too fast. “We have a role in taming and containing inflation, by making sure that this market doesn’t get out of hand.”
Yet, oil bulls continue pressing ahead, reveling in Iran’s missing this week of a deadline to renew its temporary atomic-monitoring pact with international inspectors. The review is key for ensuring Tehran gets an agreement with global powers to remove U.S. sanctions on its oil exports.
Data on Friday also showed crude stockpiles in China at February lows, meaning the world’s second largest oil importer would probably have to stock up more, to oil bulls’ delight.
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Natural Gas (Hellenic Shipping News)
China to use more natural gas in energy mix to 2035 – CNPC
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) expects China to cut its coal use to 44% of energy consumption by 2030 and 8% by 2060 as the country aims to use more natural gas to achieve its climate change goals.
China, the world’s biggest coal consumer, is expected to increase the use of natural gas in its primary energy mix to 12% in 2030 from 8.7% in 2020, said Zhu Xingshan, senior director, Planning Department CNPC at a conference on Thursday.
He added that the share of natural gas in energy consumption is expected to increase “significantly” from 2030 to 2035.
China, the world’s largest energy consumer and biggest emitter of climate warming greenhouse gases, has vowed to bring its total carbon emissions to a peak before 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2060.
Natural gas is expected to be a key bridge fuel over the next two decades, CNPC has said.
The energy giant expects coal to make up 44%, petroleum at 18%, natural gas at 12% and non-fossil fuel to make up 26% of the total energy mix in 2030.
The estimates for 2060 were coal at 8%, petroleum at 6%, natural gas at 11% and non-fossil fuel at 75% of the total energy mix.
China lowered the share of coal use in its primary energy mix to 56.8% in 2020, from around 68% at the beginning of the previous decade and expects this share to fall to below 56% in 2021.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Emily Chow; Writing by Shivani Singh; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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- Gas infrastructure across Europe leaking planet-warming methane (Hellenic Shipping News)
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