US close: Stocks end volatile session higher, another record high for AMD
ADVANCED MICRO DEV.
$157.40
02:00 27/04/24
Wall Street finished a volatile session of trading higher as investors investors reacted, first to a weaker-than-expected reading on US retail sales for August and then to reports that the US administration was intent on moving ahead with further tariffs on China, even as the US Treasury Secretary was reportedly leading an effort to restart trade talks.
At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had edged higher by 0.03% or 8.68 points to 26,154.67, alongside a dip of 0.05% or 3.67 points to 8,010.04 for the Nasdaq Composite and an advance of 0.03% or 0.80 points to 2,904.98 on the S&P 500.
From a sector standpoint, the best performing segments of the market were: Marine transportation (6.54%), Aluminium (2.44%), Life insurance (2.25%), Recreational services (1.78%) and Aerospace (1.41%).
In parallel, the CBoE's volatility index was off by 2.43% to 12.07 points.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: "US markets have returned to their winning ways this week, and even a shift towards a more hawkish view from policymaker Lael Brainard has not unduly disturbed equities. As CPI cools and wages rise, the US seems set to continue is economic outperformance, though the ongoing outflows in US equities suggests we are not at the ‘irrational exuberance’ phase of this rally just yet."
Shortly after the open, reports surfaced that President Donald Trump supported levying tariffs on a further $200.0bn-worth of Chinese goods, despite efforts led by Steve Mnuchin to bring Beijing back to the negotiating table - sending stocks tumbling lower.
That followed a mixed start to trading following news that US retail sales increased by 0.1% month-on-month in August, falling short of the 0.4% rise which analysts had predicted.
Nevertheless, the impact on sentiment from those figures was offset by others revealing stronger-than-expected levels of industrial production and consumer confidence for August and September, respectively.
Nevertheless, the details of the latter also revealed that the potential economic cost of trade tariffs was on consumers' minds.
The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer confidence gauge for September printed at 100.8, versus a reading at the end of August of 96.2 (consensus: 96.2).
According to Richard Curtin, the survey director, Americans were expecting the expansion to continued over the year ahead, creating new jobs.
But over the next five years, a downturn was expected by many.
"While consumers were somewhat more likely to anticipate that the economic expansion would continue uninterrupted over the next five years, nearly as many expected another downturn sometime in the next five years," Curtin said.
"The largest problem cited on the economic horizon involved the anticipated negative impact from tariffs. Concerns about the negative impact of tariffs on the domestic economy were spontaneously mentioned by nearly one-third of all consumers in the past three months, up from one-in-five in the prior four months."
In corporate news, shares of chip-maker AMD hit a fresh 12-year high after analysts at Argus hiked their target for the stock from $23.0 to $40.0.
NiSource fell on news that customers of one of its regulated utilities, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, were ordered to evacuate their homes following gas-related explosions.
Elsewhere, medical marijuana company Tilray was also sharply lower on the back of a Politico report that Canadians who work in the industry or invest in the sector could risk a lifetime ban on travel to the US.
Dow Jones - Risers
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $137.80 1.69%
Boeing Co. (BA) $359.80 1.22%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $117.38 0.94%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $130.01 0.92%
American Express Co. (AXP) $109.56 0.83%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.92 0.73%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $113.37 0.41%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $229.24 0.40%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.99 0.35%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $47.40 0.34%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $109.26 -1.26%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $69.98 -1.20%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $223.84 -1.14%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $160.84 -0.96%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $54.55 -0.75%
3M Co. (MMM) $207.88 -0.57%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $94.58 -0.56%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $68.58 -0.49%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $144.90 -0.44%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $148.31 -0.42%
S&P 500 - Risers
Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI) $19.50 9.92%
L Brands Inc (LB) $28.97 5.58%
Legg Mason Inc. (LM) $30.74 3.43%
Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) $67.24 3.11%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $18.07 3.08%
Wyndham Destinations Inc. (WYND) $42.18 2.99%
Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) $147.45 2.85%
Prudential Fincl Inc. (PRU) $99.86 2.84%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $129.29 2.73%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $91.68 2.60%
S&P 500 - Fallers
NiSource Inc. (NI) $24.79 -11.75%
Mallinckrodt Plc Ordinary Shares (MNK) $30.50 -4.12%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $42.53 -3.89%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $18.96 -3.51%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $39.67 -2.96%
Kroger Co. (KR) $27.80 -2.73%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $235.38 -2.44%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $73.69 -2.44%
Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM) $16.69 -2.28%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $28.53 -2.23%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $22.16 3.12%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $177.30 2.79%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $390.16 2.77%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $274.69 2.30%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $105.59 2.18%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $295.20 1.98%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $276.43 1.88%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,916.27 1.79%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $568.36 1.71%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $44.30 1.56%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $235.38 -2.44%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $27.11 -2.34%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $57.76 -2.10%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $87.17 -1.77%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $134.11 -1.58%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $90.78 -1.53%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $37.48 -1.47%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $392.17 -1.39%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $76.28 -1.19%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $200.58 -1.16%