The major USA stock indexes moved lower in afternoon trading Friday, weighed down by new data showing retail sales and producer prices came in weaker than expected in July.
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Crude-oil futures jumped to almost three-week highs after Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said major producers might take action to stabilize prices at a meeting next month.
USA stocks edged lower in early trading Friday, as investors weighed new data showing retail sales and producer prices come in softer than expected in July.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 48 points, or 0.3 percent, to 18,564 as of 3:29 p.m.
The S&P 500 gained 0.5 per cent to 2,185.79, extending this year’s advance to 6.9 per ent. Meanwhile the Nasdaq Composite Index ended the session up 23.81 points, or 0.5%, to 5,228.40.
A stock market rally since late June has pushed the S&P 500 index up 7.0 per cent in 2016, helped by better-than-expected quarterly earnings and low interest rates, but some investors are anxious about high valuations. Globally, the FTSE rose 0.02%, the Nikkie added 1.1% and the Shanghai Composite jumped 1.6%.
OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude fell 26 cents to $41.45 after closing at $41.71 a barrel in New York Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand reduced its key rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percentage point, to 2 percent early Thursday. The stock lost 43 cents to $3.30. Australian bonds gained after Treasuries rose, and copper futures climbed for a second day.
Shares in Danish group Moller-Maersk grew 4.9 percent, the top gainer in the pan-European STOXX 600 index. The iShares Silver Trust ETF (NYSE: SLV) fell 1.04 percent to $18.96.
Consumer discretionary stocks were another strong sector after Macy’s announced plans to close 100 stores in the United States and boost investment in e-commerce. The Nasdaq finished up slightly at 5232, up 4.5 percent on the year. J.C. Penney rising on narrower loss and improved sales.
Copper futures added 0.1 percent to $2.1730 a pound in NY, after rising 1 percent last session amid the dollar’s retreat.
Earlier, Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.2 percent despite a report showing private sector machinery orders rebounded in June from May. Energy producers posted the steepest declines, slipping 1.4 percent amid crude’s slide. The 10-Year Note was last yielding 1.57 percent while the 30-Year Bond yield was 2.28 percent.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.2% Friday but notched a weekly gain of 1.4%.
PAINFUL QUARTER: Shares in Concordia International slumped 28.7 percent after the drugmaker reported disappointing sales, cut its annual forecasts and suspended its dividend.
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In currency markets, the dollar weakened to 101.27 yen from 101.93 on Thursday.
