Stocks eked out modest gains Friday, shaking off earlier weakness tied to geo-political turmoil, higher energy prices, and deteriorating consumer sentiment. Stocks instead got a small boost from President Obama's comments dismissing the use of ground troops in Iraq, and a halt in the oil market rally above $107 per barrel. The NASDAQ Composite outperformed thanks to gains in OpenTable (NASDAQ:OPEN) on its $2.6 billion sale to Priceline.com (NASDAQ:PCLN) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) after the chip maker raised revenue and earnings guidance.
Despite the slim gains, the major averages end with their worse weekly losses in two months, with the S&P 500 off 0.7% and the DJIA down 0.9% this week. The Nasdaq is down a slimmer 0.3%, compared to where it stood last week.
Friday's economic data was mixed with inflation down, but consumer sentiment declining.The producer price index for May contracted 0.2% versus the street estimate for a 0.1% increase. The core index fell 0.1%, also missing estimates for a small gain.
Stagnant wage growth caused consumer sentiment to deteriorate in June with the Reuters/Univ of Michigan index falling to 81.2 in June from May's final read of 81.9. This was well below forecasts for an improvement to 83.0.
European equities closed lower in reaction to Bank of England Governor Mark Carney's remarks raising the likelihood for higher UK rates this year. The drift lower was amplified by concerns about Iraq and a possible disruption of Middle East oil to Europe.
Here's Where The Markets Stood At The Close
US MARKETS
- Dow Jones Industrial Index was up 41 (+0.3%) at 16,775
- S&P 500 was up 6 (+0.3%) at 1,936
- NASDAQ Composite Index was up 13 (+0.3%) at 4,310
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
- FTSE 100 was down 0.95%
- Nikkei 225 was up 0.83%
- Hang Seng Index was up 0.62%
- Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.93%
UPSIDE MOVERS
- (+) OPEN Acquired by Priceline (PCLN) for $103 per share
- (+) KPTI Positive results from multiple myeloma study
- (+) ICLD Becomes VMware partner, opens New England sales office
- (+) IGT Reuters report that several potential suitors are interested
- (-) TWTC Possible deal with Level 3 (LVLT)
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
- (-) KOOL Prices stock at 15% discount to Thursday's close
- (-) FNSR Q1 EPS guidance trails Wall Street expectations
- (-) IDCC ITC says Nokia and ZTE did not violate patents
After Hours Stock News From Midnight Trader.
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