Stocks Close Nearly Flat On The Day But Higher For The Week - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After failing to sustain an initial upward move, stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading session on Friday. The major averages spent most of the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing roughly flat.

While the Dow inched up 10.14 points or 0.1 percent to a new record closing high of 18,516.55, the Nasdaq edged down 4.47 points or 0.1 percent to 5,029.59 and the S&P 500 dipped 2.01 points or 0.1 percent to 2,161.74.

Despite the lackluster performance on the day, the major averages moved sharply higher for the week. The Dow surged up by 2 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both jumped by 1.5 percent.

The initial strength on Wall Street was partly in reaction to a report from the Commerce Department showing much stronger than expected retail sales growth in the month of June.

Suggesting strength in consumer demand, the Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in June compared to economist estimates for a 0.1 percent uptick.

However, the buying interest was partly offset by the release of a separate report from the University of Michigan showing a notable deterioration in consumer sentiment in the month of July.

The University of Michigan said the preliminary reading on the consumer sentiment index for July fell to 89.5 compared to the final June reading of 93.5. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.

Richard Curtin, the survey's chief economist, suggested the deterioration reflected concerns about the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

Traders were also digesting a slew of other U.S. economic data as well as the gruesome terrorist attack in Nice, France, which killed more than 80 people.

The massacre extends a recent string of terrorist attacks and has raised concerns about the impact on travel and tourism as well as the broader global economy.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

While railroad and gold stocks moved to the downside on the day, notable strength was visible among biotechnology stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended the day up by 0.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index closed just below the unchanged line and the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.3 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries moved notably lower, pulling back further off their recent record highs. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, advanced by 6.3 basis points to 1.594 percent.

Looking Ahead

Following the slew of data released this morning, the economic calendar for next week is relatively quiet, although traders are likely to keep an eye on a trio of housing reports.

Earnings season will also pick up steam next week, with Bank of America (BAC), IBM (IBM), Yahoo (YHOO), Goldman Sachs (GS), Microsoft (MSFT), American Express (AXP), Intel (INTC), and General Electric (GE) among the companies due to report their quarterly results.