Dow Ends 8-Day Losing Streak But Nasdaq Edges Lower - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Friday, although the tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day modestly below the unchanged line. The advance by the Dow allowed the blue chip index to avoid its longest losing streak in over forty years.

The major averages finished the session mixed. The Nasdaq dipped 20.14 points or 0.3 percent to 7,692.82, while the Dow climbed 119.19 points or 0.5 percent to 24,580.89 and the S&P 500 rose 5.13 points or 0.2 percent to 2,754.89.

Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all moved lower for the week. While the Dow slumped by 2 percent, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 slid by 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

A rally by energy stocks contributed to the strength on Wall Street, as the price of crude oil spiked higher on news out of the closely watched OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria.

Reports earlier in the day indicated OPEC planned to increase oil production by about 1 million barrels per day, although a statement from the cartel did not provide a specific figure.

OPEC only noted that it was overshooting the output reduction target put in place in November of 2016 and said it will "strive to adhere to the overall conformity level of OPEC-12, down to 100%."

The uncertainty generated by the statement contributed to a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with crude for August delivery soared $3.04 to $68.58 a barrel.

Reflecting the strength in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index spiked by 3.6 percent, the NYSE Arca Oil Index surged up by 2.6 percent and the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index jumped by 2 percent.

Steel stocks also saw considerable strength on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Steel Index up by 2.1 percent. The index bounced off its lowest closing level in over two months.

Chemical and gold stocks also showed strong moves to the upside, while weakness was visible among banking and semiconductor stocks.

Traders largely shrugged off lingering trade concerns even as President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 20 percent tariff on all cars imported to the U.S. from the European Union.

Trump claimed in a post on Twitter that he would impose the new tariffs unless the EU removes tariffs and trade barriers placed on the U.S.

"Based on the Tariffs and Trade Barriers long placed on the U.S. and it great companies and workers by the European Union, if these Tariffs and Barriers are not soon broken down and removed, we will be placing a 20% Tariff on all of their cars coming into the U.S. Build them here!" Trump tweeted.

The latest tweet from Trump came after he threatened to escalate the ongoing trade dispute with China earlier this week.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.2 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index climbed by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index surged up by 1.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction before closing roughly flat. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 2.900 percent.

Looking Ahead

Next week's trading may be impacted by reaction to the latest batch of economic news, including reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending.

On the earnings front, Carnival (CCL), Sonic (SONC), General Mills (GIS), Paychex (PAYX), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Pier 1 Imports (PIR), Rite Aid (RAD), Nike (NKE), and Walgreens (WBA) are among the companies due to report their quarterly results next week.