Dow, S&P 500 Post Small Weekly Gains
September 22 2017 - 5:56PM
Dow Jones News
By Georgi Kantchev and Corrie Driebusch
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out their
second consecutive weekly gains, boosted by a rise in bank
shares.
Stock moves have been muted in recent sessions, something
traders and analysts attributed to a dearth of corporate news ahead
of the start of the third-quarter earnings season.
The S&P 500 moved 12 points between its weekly peak and its
low -- its smallest range since November 2014. In another sign of
the calm in the markets, the CBOE Volatility Index, a measure of
investors' expectations for swings in the S&P 500, fell Friday
for the ninth time in 10 trading sessions.
Major indexes also were steady after the Federal Reserve
signaled Wednesday that it could raise interest rates one more time
this year and tensions escalated anew between North Korea and the
U.S.
"There were North Korea jitters and the Fed this week, but for
stocks we are in this quiet period in terms of getting ready for
third-quarter earnings," said Dan Morgan, senior portfolio manager
at Synovus Trust Co.
The S&P 500 rose 1.62 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2502.22
on Friday, rising less than 0.1% for the week.
The Dow industrials fell 9.64 points, or less than 0.1%, to
22349.59, rising 0.4% for the week.
The Nasdaq Composite added 4.23 points, or less than 0.1%, to
6426.92, but posted a 0.3% weekly decline.
Assets perceived as safer than stocks got a boost after North
Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said late Thursday in New York
that the country may consider a nuclear test of "unprecedented
scale" in the Pacific Ocean.
Those comments came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said
he was considering the "highest level of hard-line countermeasure"
in response to President Donald Trump's warning that the U.S. would
annihilate North Korea if forced to defend itself or its
allies.
This was likely causing investors to be "antsy heading into the
weekend, " said Emmanuel Ng, an analyst at OCBC Bank.
Gold for September delivery rose 0.2% on Friday, although it
ended the week down 2.1% at $1,293.30 a troy ounce.
Government bond prices rose Friday, with the yield on the
benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note falling to 2.262% from 2.278%
on Thursday.
Yields, which rise as bond prices fall, had climbed nine
consecutive sessions through Thursday -- their longest such streak
since March 2011.
Bond yields climbed after the Fed's suggestion that it could
raise rates once more in 2017 and three more times next year caught
some investors by surprise.
Weak inflation numbers in recent months had made some investors
question how quickly the Fed could raise rates.
The rise in yields helped lift bank shares. Financial stocks in
the S&P 500 rose 2.7% for the week, though on Friday they
slipped less than 0.1%.
In the past two weeks, the sector has risen 6.1%, posting its
best performance since the two weeks ended Nov. 18.
But after the Fed meeting Wednesday, investors now see a more
than 70% chance of a rate rise by the end of the year, according to
Fed-fund futures tracked by CME Group.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.1% after falling in earlier
trading, while major indexes across Asia finished mostly in the
red.
In Japan, gains in the yen hurt the Nikkei Stock Average, which
closed down 0.3%. A stronger currency weighs on the country's key
export stocks.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.8%, while South Korea's Kospi lost
0.7%.
Akane Otani contributed to this article.
Write to Georgi Kantchev at georgi.kantchev@wsj.com and Corrie
Driebusch at corrie.driebusch@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2017 17:41 ET (21:41 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.