HAPPY RETAILERS: Nordtsrom surged 8.7 percent a day after the department store chain reported earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations.
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A strong USA dollar, a rally in the health care sector and a reversal in crude oil pushed investors back into risk assets and out of bonds. “Add in this economic data that leans to the weaker side and it’s not surprising that the market is off a little bit”.
Today’s economic calendar remains heavy, with investors awaiting reports on German consumer inflation and GDP, U.K. construction output, Eurozone GDP as well as industrial production for further direction.
Stocks are closing mostly lower on Wall Street Friday, weighed down by new data showing weaker-than-expected retail sales and a drop in producer prices in July.
A sharp sell-off in energy companies pulled stock indexes modestly lower Wednesday, wiping out small gains from the day before.
The three indexes closed at record highs. Asian shares rose Friday, tracking the rally in USA stocks that was driven by strong gains by energy companies and retailers.
The Nasdaq bucked the trend, adding 4.49 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,232.89. China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 0.2 percent at 3,023.26. The agency now expects demand to rise by 1.2 million barrels a day, slower than the 1.4 million barrels a day seen this year. The stock rose $5.40, or 15.7 percent, to $39.34. The Nasdaq composite rose 25 points or 0.5 percent to 5,230.
A woman looks at an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo that shows Japan’s Nikkei 225 stock index that rose 184.80 points or 1.10 percent to close at 16,919.92, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016.
GLOBAL MARKETS: In Europe, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 each fell 0.2%, and Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.1%.
Valeant fell 6 percent in heavy trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that USA federal prosecutors had opened a criminal investigation on the drugmaker.
NYMEX crude oil futures climbed more than 4 percent to $43.42 while Brent contracts jumped 4.29 percent to $45.95. Materials stocks also rose 0.4% thanks to solid gains at chemical and mining companies.
Healthcare added 0.6%, information technology stocks closed up 0.4% and telecommunications services rallied 0.3%.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was lower on the session, falling around 3 percent to 11.68.
A massive rally in crude oil and better-than-expected quarterly performance from the retail space helped to drive the S&P 500 to new highs on Thursday.
Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.56 percent from 1.50 late Wednesday.
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Expectations that the Fed will be slow to raise interest rates boosted USA government bonds and weakened the dollar, which dropped against the Japanese yen and euro. The euro strengthened to $1.1164 from $1.1141.
