US close: Wall Street ends on mixed note despite positive economic data

Wall Street finished on a mixed note, led by shares in aluminum and other metals companies amid better than expected economic data and some dovish Fedspeak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted lower by 0.01% or 2.53 points to 21,314.76, with the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.46% or 28.56 points to 6,265.25 and the S&P 500 adding 0.16% or 3.80 points to 2,438.30.

Oil prices also traded higher as the diplomatic spat between several Arab countries and Qatar continued to worsen. Against that backdrop, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures rose by 21 cents to $43.01 a barrel.

That was despite figures from Baker Hughes showing the the number of US oil rigs in operation climbed for a 23rd successive week, rising by 11 to 758.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, argued that while oil prices were clawing back some of their losses from earlier in the week, there was little reason to believe this was anything more than a dead cat bounce and that next week may be another painful one.

From a sector standpoint the biggest gains were seen in the following industrial groups: Aluminium (4.33%), Coal (3.83%) and Nonferrous Metals (2.71%).

On the economic front, in a speech delivered in Nashville, James Bullard said: "many future developments could impact policy path, but the Fed does not need to preempt any of them."

With the US economy firmly in a "low growth, low inflation and low interest rate regime" there was no reason to tighten policy, he went on to explain.

Meanwhile, the Department of Commerce revealed that new single-family home sales in the US grew by 2.9% month-on-month in May to reach an annualised rate of 610,000. In comparison to the same month one year ago, sales were 8.9% ahead.

Economists had forecast an increase of 600,000.

In parallel, IHS Markit's composite manufacturing and service sector purchasing managers index slipped from 53.6 in May to 53.0 for June - a three-month low - as expected.

Worth noting, the survey compiler said average prices charged by private sector firms saw one of the biggest increases in two years.

In corporate news, shares in Bed, Bath & Beyond dropped to a seven-year low after posting much weaker than expected earnings per share for its first fiscal quarter.

Dow Jones - Risers

Visa Inc. (V) $95.58 1.73%
Boeing Co. (BA) $202.17 1.40%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $71.21 1.35%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $52.85 0.86%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $32.09 0.75%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.61 0.65%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $105.00 0.53%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $146.28 0.45%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $89.42 0.44%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.25 0.40%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $151.30 -2.68%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $217.18 -1.17%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $74.84 -0.90%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $185.18 -0.67%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $127.64 -0.51%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.19 -0.49%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $81.01 -0.41%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $154.11 -0.19%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $86.86 -0.18%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $154.64 -0.10%

S&P 500 - Risers

Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $1.22 8.93%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $56.18 8.00%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $22.25 5.60%
Alcoa Corporation (AA) $31.09 4.33%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.79 4.32%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $22.26 3.87%
Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG) $23.74 3.85%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $39.74 3.44%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $93.34 3.42%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $36.96 3.41%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $29.65 -12.12%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $49.92 -5.42%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $188.68 -3.32%
Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $76.07 -2.90%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $153.83 -2.87%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $151.30 -2.68%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $43.69 -2.06%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $18.58 -2.01%
Regions Financial Corp. (RF) $13.57 -1.95%
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) $24.66 -1.91%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $29.14 3.96%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $42.95 3.92%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $93.34 3.42%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $29.98 3.27%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $51.30 2.56%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $333.56 2.55%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $51.99 2.24%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $5.35 2.10%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $158.02 2.02%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $24.49 2.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $153.83 -2.87%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $95.00 -2.12%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $517.33 -1.75%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $157.13 -1.66%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $66.60 -1.60%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $110.87 -1.55%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $133.49 -1.50%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $60.44 -1.18%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $54.81 -1.17%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $172.98 -1.11%