U.S. stocks extended recent gains, finishing Friday’s trading session higher amid some mixed results from Deere & Company and an upbeat report from Nordstrom and as afternoon reports indicated that Chinese leader Xi and U.S. President Trump are expected to focus on trade in a November meeting. Technology stocks underperformed their peers as chip companies NVIDIA and Applied Materials announced some disappointing guidance. In economic developments, a rise in Leading Indicators was met with a surprising decline in consumer sentiment. Treasury yields dipped and the U.S. dollar traded lower, while gold and crude oil prices were higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) advanced 111 points (0.4%) to 25,669, the S&P 500 Index gained 9 points (0.3%) to 2,850, and the NASDAQ Composite was 10 points (0.1%) higher at 7,816. In moderate volume, 763 million shares were traded on the NYSE and 1.8 billion shares changed hands on the NASDAQ. WTI crude oil increased $0.45 to $65.91 per barrel and wholesale gasoline lost $0.01 to $1.98 per gallon. Elsewhere, the Bloomberg gold spot price added $9.56 to $1,183.72 per ounce, and the Dollar Index—a comparison of the U.S. dollar to six major world currencies—was 0.5% lower at 96.12. Markets were mixed for the week, as the DJIA increased 1.4%, the S&P 500 Index ticked 0.6% higher, and the NASDAQ Composite decreased 0.3%.
The Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators (LEI) for July rose 0.6% month-over-month (m/m), above the Bloomberg projection of a 0.4% gain and June’s unrevised 0.5% increase. The index has not seen a decline since May 2016. ISM new orders, the yield curve, the credit index, stock prices and consumer expectations were positive, while building permits were negative.
The August preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index unexpectedly declined to an 11-month low of 95.3, compared to expectations for a slight rise to 98.0 from July’s final read of 97.9. The current economic conditions component of the survey fell, more than offsetting the expectations measure that held steady. The 1-year inflation forecast remained at 2.9%, while the 5-10 year inflation forecast ticked higher to 2.5% from the previous 2.4%
Treasuries ticked mostly higher, with the yields on the 2-year note and the 30-year bond dipping 1 basis point to 2.61% and 3.02%, respectively, while the yield on the 10-year note was flat at 2.86%.e.
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