Wall Street mixed, but on pace for weekly losses
U.S. indexes mixed, all around flat
Healthcare leads S&P 500 sector gainers; Utilities weakest group
Euro STOXX 600 index up ~0.3%
Dollar slips; gold, crude gain slightly; bitcoin up >1%
U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield falls to ~3.94%
Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com
WALL STREET MIXED, BUT ON PACE FOR WEEKLY LOSSES
The three main indexes are mixed early on Friday in volatile trading, with all three on track for weekly losses. Both the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC are headed for four consecutive weeks of declines.
Six of the 11 sectors on the S&P are higher, although it's very choppy at the moment. The semiconductor index SOX, on the other hand, is down nearly 1% on the day.
But then as Thomas Lee, head of research at Fundstrat, likes to remind everyone else: it's August.
Lee writes in a research note that in general August to October is a tough period for markets, in which the stock risk/reward is less attractive than the period post-election.
He notes that since 1950, when the S&P 500 is up more than 10% in the first half, the August win-ratio is only 39% and the median loss is 0.6%
Overall, he says "evidence continues to mount (that) the worst is behind us."
In the meantime, dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials on Thursday and Friday are curbing losses. On Friday, Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins, in an interview with the Providence Journal, said it would be appropriate to start cutting interest rates soon if inflation continues to fall.
U.S. fed fund futures are pricing in on Friday a 55% chance of a 50 basis-point cut in September, with 45% betting on a 25 -bp cut.
There is no economic data of import on Friday, so investors are focused next week for clues on in the size of rate cuts coming in September and for the rest of the year. A slew of indicators will be released next week including producer and consumer prices, retail sales, and jobless claims.
Here's an early market snapshot of where different asset classes stood:
(Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss)
*****
FOR FRIDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
S&P 500 INDEX: WHIPLASH - CLICK HERE
AI RALLY'S FIRST SETBACK "OVERDUE" - DWS CIO - CLICK HERE
STOXX 600 SET FOR FURTHER 10% DRAWDOWN - BOFA - CLICK HERE
EUROPEAN SHARES TURN POSITIVE FOR THE WEEK - CLICK HERE
EUROPEAN STOCK FUTURES EDGE UP - CLICK HERE
TURBULENT WEEK ENDING ON A HIGH -CLICK HERE
US early market snapshot https://tmsnrt.rs/46E1KWC
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
