U.S. Stocks Close Mixed Following Lackluster Session
June 21 2024 - 4:38PM
IH Market News
Following the mixed performance seen in the previous sessions,
stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading
day on Friday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and
forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed.
While the Dow (DOWI:DJI) inched up 15.57 points or less than a
tenth of a percent to 39,150.33, the Nasdaq (NASDAQI:COMP) dipped
32.23 points or 0.2 percent to 17,689.36 and the S&P 500
(SPI:SP500) dipped 8.55 points or 0.2 percent to 5,464.62.
For the holiday-interrupted week, the Dow jumped by 1.5 percent
and the S&P 500 climbed by 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq was
nearly unchanged.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders took a step
back to assess recent activity in the markets, which saw the Nasdaq
and the S&P 500 reach new record intraday highs on Thursday
before turning lower.
The narrower Dow, on the other hand, saw further upside over the
course of Thursday’s trading, and today’s uptick lifted the blue
chip index to its best closing level in a month.
Traders also kept an eye on shares of Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), as
the AI darling has recently been a key driver of the markets.
Nvidia tumbled by 3.5 percent on Tuesday and by slumped by
another 3.2 percent today after briefly surpassing Microsoft
(NASDAQ:MSFT) as the world’s most valuable public company on
Tuesday.
On the U.S. economic front, The National Association of Realtors
released a report showing existing home sales in the U.S. decreased
roughly in line with economist estimates in the month of May.
The report said existing home sales slid 0.7 percent to an
annual rate of 4.11 million in May after tumbling by 1.9 percent to
an annual rate of 4.14 million. Economists had expected existing
home sales to drop to a rate of 4.10 million.
The continued decline by existing home sales came as the median
existing-home price reached a record high $419,300 in May, up 5.8
percent from $396,500 a year ago.
“Home prices reaching new highs are creating a wider divide
between those owning properties and those who wish to be first-time
buyers,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
“The mortgage payment for a typical home today is more than
double that of homes purchased before 2020,” he added. “Still,
first-time buyers in the market understand the long-term benefits
of owning.”
A separate report released by the Conference Board showed its
reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than
expected in the month of May.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index decreased
by 0.5 percent in May following a 0.6 percent decline in April.
Economist had expected the index to dip by 0.3 percent.
Sector News
Reflecting the lackluster performance by the broader markets,
most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest
moves.
Gold stocks showed a significant move to the downside, however,
resulting in a 1.4 percent decline by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs
Index. The weakness among gold stocks came amid a sharp pullback by
the price of the precious metal.
Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor
stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 loss posted by the Philadelphia
Semiconductor Index.
On the other hand, networking stocks showed a strong move to the
upside, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 1.2
percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific
region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei
225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and China’s Shanghai Composite
Index dipped by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
tumbled by 1.7 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the
day. While the French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent, the German
DAX Index declined by 0.5 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index
fell by 0.4 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction over
the course of the session before closing roughly flat.
Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves
opposite of its price, crept up by less than a basis point to 4.257
percent.
Looking Ahead
The Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending
is likely to be in focus next week, as it includes readings on
inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.
Reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods
orders and pending home sales may also attract attention next
week.
SOURCE: RTTNEWS
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