Posted on Friday, 30th July 2010 by Charlotte W
() - The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with the weakness intensifying after the release of the advance second quarter GDP estimate, which showed a slower than expected 2.4% increase. However, the negativity is neutralized to some extent by the sharp upward revision to the previous quarter’s growth. Traders now look ahead to a private manufacturing survey and a consumer sentiment survey to be released shortly after the markets open.
The month’s strong performance increases the risk of a pullback, provided these reports disappoint to the downside. Earnings have largely been encouraging and therefore the focus shifts to Main Street, as traders seek clarity on the recovery’s progress.
U.S. stocks experienced weakness in Thursday’s session despite the continued trickling in of positive earnings. Recent gains may have made traders wary ahead of the GDP report. The major averages began the session higher and after a short uptick in early trading, they began moving southwards and dipped into negative territory by early afternoon trading.
Selling continued till mid-afternoon trading, dragging the indexes to their intra-day lows. Thereafter, the major averages snapped back some of their losses before closing moderately weak.
The Dow Industrials fell 30.72 points or 0.29% to end at 10,467 and the S&P 500 Index closed 4.60 points or 0.42% lower at 1,102, while the Nasdaq Composite ended down 12.87 points or 0.57% at 2,252.
Nineteen of the thirty Dow components closed lower, with Procter & Gamble (PG), Kraft Foods (KFT), Intel (INTC), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Disney (DIS) seeing steep losses.
Among the sector indexes, the Dow Jones Utility Average fell 1.47%, the NYSE Arca Internet Index slipped 3.01% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index receded 1.93%, while the NYSE Arca Disk Drive Index, the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index and the NYSE Arca Software Index all ended down over 1%. However, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index rose 1.40% and the NYSE Arca Securities Broker/Dealer Index gained 1.49%.
Currency, Commodity Markets
Crude oil futures are moving down $0.54 to $77.82 a barrel after rising $1.37 to $78.36 a barrel on Thursday. Gold futures, which rose $8.80 to $1,171.20 an ounce in the previous session, are currently advancing $4.0 to $1,175.40 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 86.115 yen compared to the 86.786 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3050 compared to yesterday’s $1.3079.
Similar Posts:
- Sustenance Of Gains To Depend On Data
- Trading Likely To Be Muted As Concerns Persist
- Deals, Earnings May Offer Encouragement
- Anemic Job Report May Deflate Optimism
- Nervousness Likely Ahead Of Fed Decision
Tags: Slower, Slower Economic
Posted in Business Quotes | No Comments »