Strong gains by energy companies and retailers helped nudge each of the major U.S. stocks indexes to a record high close, erasing mild losses from the day before. Energy stocks led the gainers as crude oil prices rose again.
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Investors mostly focused on the latest batch of company earnings from retailers and other companies, as well as new data indicating that US retail sales in July were more sluggish than expected. The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to close at 2,185.79. The Nasdaq composite index lost 20.90 points, or 0.4 percent, to 5,204.58.
Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.2 percent to 6,854 after a survey from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors showed house price growth was at its lowest in three years following Britain’s vote to exit the European Union.
KEEPING SCORE: The DAX index in Germany fell 0.2 percent to 10,723 and France’s CAC 40 lost 0.1 percent to 4,500.
A man walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo showing 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.
It was the first time since December 31, 1999 that the S&P 500, Dow Jones industrial average and Nasdaq had closed at record highs on the same day, according to Bespoke Investment Group.
NEW ZEALAND’S CUT: New Zealand’s central bank on Thursday cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low 2 percent, but its efforts to boost inflation and lower the currency failed to impress traders, who bid the New Zealand dollar higher.
The Nasdaq is up 197.17 points, or 3.9 percent.
Stock indexes closed lower Wednesday amid selling pressure on the energy and financial sector coupled with a risk-off move into Treasury securities. Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, added 93 cents, or 2 percent, to close at $46.97 a barrel in London.
After descending into a bear market last week, WTI is now down just over 19 percent from a high reached in June.
UNAPPETIZING RESULTS: Ruby Tuesday’s slid 13.5 percent after the restaurant chain reported weak sales and said it would shutter 95 of its company-owned locations by September.
Shares of Macy’s and Kohl’s are now up by 17.5 percent and 14.9 percent, respectively after both companies reported better than expected second quarter results. The stock shed 2.53 dollars to 38.34. Silver lost 15 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $20.02 an ounce. The stock climbed $3.94 to $36.58. Devon Energy added $1.99, or 5 percent, to $41.57, while Newfield Exploration gained $2.03, or 4.5 percent, to $47.40.
SOLD: Silicon Graphics jumped 28.8 percent on news that Hewlett Packard Enterprise agreed to buy the computer equipment and services company for about $281 million. Natural gas gained 3 cents to $2.58 per 1,000 cubic feet.
PUMPED UP: Planet Fitness gained 10.4 percent after the fitness center company raised its profit and revenue projections following a strong second-quarter report.
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Import prices had been expected to drop by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.2 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month. New Zealand followed Australia in reducing rates to a fresh all-time low, and wagers on the Federal Reserve hiking borrowing costs this year remain below 50 percent as traders bet uneven expansion elsewhere will see the US central bank exercise caution. India’s Sensex gained 1 percent. The currency has strengthened for the past five sessions, reaching a more than one-year high on Wednesday.
