US open: Stocks higher even as analysts mark down GDP forecasts
Wall Street is keeping its head above water going into the weekend, with investors taking the latest missile launch by North Korea in their stride and despite the release of a string of indicators which revealed that hurricanes Harvey and Irma were already taking their toll on activity last month.
At 1700 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was higher by 0.20% or 44.12 points to 22,247.72, while the S&P 500 was edging higher by 0.10% or 2.57 points to 2,498.27 and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead by 0.40% or 25.54 points to 6,454.60.
Investors reacted with a certain degree of calm to news that North Korea has launched another missile over Japan. The missile was said to have travelled 3,700km before landing in the sea off Hokkaido, flying further and higher than another one fired over Japan last month. The launch came just days after the UN
Security Council approved fresh sanctions against Pyongyang for its nuclear test on 3 September.
IG analyst Joshua Mahony said: "Following a new set of sanctions, it seemed almost a foregone conclusion that we would see North Korea emerge with another test before long. Yet the fact that markets have chosen to brush aside this latest test is testament to how far market opinion has come after the hysteria of recent weeks."
Economic data was almost uniformly weak on Friday, mainly as a result of hurricane Harvey and Irma's impact, save for the so-called Empire State manufacturing index for September which slipped by just 0.8 points to 24.4, denoting confidence in the sector's outlook, according to analysts.
In parallel, the Commerce Department reported a 0.2% drop for retail sales volumes in August (consensus: 0.1%), alongside downwards revisions to prior month's data.
August industrial production figures also fell well short of the mark, dropping by 0.9% month-on-month (consensus: 0.1%), according to figures from the Federal Reserve, as mining and utilities output.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan reported a drop in its consumer confidence gauge for September to 95.3, down from a reading of 96.8 in the month before (consensus: 96.5). Again, here too those two hurricanes left a clear imprint, with survey responses showing a clear link between them and expectations for the economy weakness.
On the back of the retail sales and industrial production figures, Barclays Research took down its third quarter tracking estimate for US GDP from 2.6% to 2.0%.
Nonetheless, Berenberg sounded an optimistic note on the underlying trend for investment, pointing to the results from the Empire State survey to back up its conclusions.
Meanwhile, in the corporate space, Oracle's share price got pummelled after co-CEO Safra Catz guided toward growth in fiscal second quarter sales of between 2% to 4%, versus market forecasts calling for an increase of 4.7%.
Steel-maker Nucor was also lower as the company lowered its outlook for third quarter profits.
Amazon.com also attracted some attention at the end of the week on the heels of market speculation that it might be set to buy German-listed Shop Apotheke, with stock in the latter up by a further 15% despite denying it was in talks with the US internet giant.
Dow Jones - Risers
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $160.85 1.63%
Boeing Co. (BA) $249.03 1.55%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.83 0.96%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $32.46 0.84%
American Express Co. (AXP) $86.73 0.63%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $75.23 0.62%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $98.47 0.58%
3M Co. (MMM) $212.57 0.54%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $91.40 0.47%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $80.01 0.42%
Dow Jones - Fallers
General Electric Co. (GE) $23.77 -2.02%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $224.85 -0.88%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $144.37 -0.81%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.49 -0.66%
Visa Inc. (V) $105.45 -0.59%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $79.68 -0.51%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $93.22 -0.35%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $114.14 -0.27%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $113.03 -0.10%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $83.93 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $51.42 6.17%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $178.24 5.22%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $88.24 2.86%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $13.22 2.32%
Macy's Inc. (M) $22.42 1.93%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $43.79 1.91%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $109.02 1.81%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $59.12 1.72%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $19.02 1.71%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $83.73 1.69%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $83.94 -47.91%
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $49.40 -6.42%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $65.26 -5.06%
Equifax Inc. (EFX) $92.48 -4.32%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $5.71 -3.38%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $31.90 -2.95%
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL) $59.45 -2.94%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $16.68 -2.77%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $120.41 -2.54%
H&R Block Inc. (HRB) $25.85 -2.23%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $178.24 5.22%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $88.24 2.86%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $109.02 1.81%
Dentsply International Inc. (XRAY) $59.12 1.72%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $83.73 1.69%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class B (FOX) $26.42 1.62%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $84.54 1.50%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $26.87 1.40%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $155.47 1.36%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $160.42 1.35%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $83.94 -47.91%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $31.90 -2.95%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $56.28 -2.49%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $104.97 -1.33%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $75.74 -1.16%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $37.24 -0.94%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $437.18 -0.92%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $187.81 -0.86%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $114.73 -0.64%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $52.67 -0.57%