Market News Performances among the major U.S equity averages varied today. Data were generally disappointing. The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high for the 27th time this year on Thursday, but other U.S. stock-market benchmarks slipped back into the red just ahead of the closing bell. The S&P 500 closed less than a point higher at 1,987.98, after setting a fresh intraday record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished off 2.83 points at 17,083.80. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day 1.59 points lower at 4,472.11. The dollar was down markedly this morning, but that didnt seem to matter too much to traders in the wake of the data. The greenback pared its loss as the session progressed, but it was still down 0.5% against a basket of competing currencies at the close of trade. The Dow ended the day at the unchanged mark. Despite strength in MSFT shares, other blue chips traded in mixed fashion. Asian shares were mixed Friday in early trade with Tokyo up on inflation data in line with expectations. The Nikkei 225 rose 0.5%. The dollar was a tad lower against its rivals Friday, with many investors sitting on the sidelines ahead of a slew of events and data that could give them a better sense of direction. As of 6:00 GMT, the U.S. dollar edged down to ¥101.75 from ¥101.81 late Thursday in New York. Meanwhile, the euro inched up to $1.3469 from $1.3462, while the British pound rose to $1.6995 from $1.6986. The U.S. dollar maintained its firm tone overnight as a steep falloff in the U.S. weekly jobless claims overnight raised expectations for strong U.S. jobs data scheduled next week. Crude oil prices were steady to slightly weaker in Asia on Friday with crises in Eastern Europe and the Middle East keeping the potential for volatility high. Crude oil for delivery in September traded at $102.06 a barrel, down 0.01%, after hitting an overnight session low of $102.08 a barrel and a high of $103.31 a barrel.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Jul 2014 15:01:14 +0000
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