U.S. stocks continued to display signs of divergence between the tech sector and the rest of the market on Friday, a trend that had already surfaced during Thursday’s session.
Following a substantial sell-off in tech stocks yesterday, the Nasdaq remained relatively flat in midday trading, while the Dow saw a 0.2% increase, poised to conclude its 10th consecutive session of gains. This positive streak marks the first such occurrence since February 2017.
Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) extended losses, falling 3% after suffering nearly a 9% decline in its worst session of the year on the previous day.
As $2.3 trillion options expire Friday, traders adopted a cautious approach, particularly with the Nasdaq 100 reshuffle on the horizon. The reshuffle is expected to reduce the dominance of mega-cap companies and elevate the presence of smaller firms.
Cues From Friday’s Trading:
The S&P 500 gained 0.2% on the day, which would project the weekly gains to 0.9%.
Blue chips in the Dow Index were 0.2% higher, up 2.4% for the week.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was flat, down 0.5% for the week. Small caps in the Russell 2000 were also flat, but rose 1.9% this week.
US Index Performance On Friday
US Index
Performance (+/-)
Value
Nasdaq 100
+0.04%
15,490.17
S&P 500 Index
+0.3%
4,550.20
Dow Industrials
+0.22%
35,303.46
Russell 2000
0.05%
1,968.95
Analyst Color:
As June leading economic indicators index declined by 0.7% in June, economist and gold bug Peter Schiff noted that the last negative streak this long occurred in 2007-2008, during the Great Recession.
He said the number would have been even lower but for a rising stock market.
Morgan Stanley’s Lisa Shalett has a slightly different take. A strong labor market, robust housing demand and resurgent business spending could help reignite U.S. economic growth next year, she said in a weekly report released earlier this week.
“With these factors at play, the economy may indeed re-accelerate. If it does, the stock market is likely to feature a new set of winners, with today’s high-flying consumer-tech and media names giving way to leaders from other equity sectors, such as industrials, energy, housing, financials and health care, as well as commodities,” she added.
Thursday’s Trading In Major US Equity ETFs: In midday trading on Thursday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was 0.3% higher to $453, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) rose 0.2% to $353 and the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) was flat at $377.20, according to Zenger News Pro data.
The best-performing sectors on Friday were the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU), up 1.7%, and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV), up 1.1%.
The laggard was the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC), down 1%.
The futures market has priced in a 99.8% probability of a 25 basis-point Fed rate hike at the July meeting, as inflation still remains above the Fed’s target rate.
Stocks In Focus:
Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil rose 1%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude trading at $76.50. The United States Oil Fund ETF (NYSE:USO) was 0.9% higher to $68.70.
Treasury yields were steady, with the 10-year yield down by 2 basis points to 3.83% and the two-year yield up by 1 basis points to 4.86%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE:TLT) was 0.3% higher for the day.
The dollar fell, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF (NYSE:UUP), down 0.3%. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust (NYSE:FXE), was 0.1% lower to 1.1120.
European equity indexes closed in the green. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 Etf (NYSE:FEZ) rose 0.5%.
Gold fell 0.4% to $1,961/oz. The SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE:GLD) was 0.3% lower to $182. Silver fell 0.3% to $24.65, with the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) down 0.2% to $22.60. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) was flat at $29,827.
Produced in association with Benzinga
Edited by Saba Fatima and Maham Javaid
Get news, handpicked just for you, in your box.
