MARKET COMMENTARY
Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities
On Friday, major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 113 points (+0.33%) to 34,509, while the S&P 500 declined 4 points (-0.10%) to 4,505, and the Nasdaq 100 dipped 6.38 points (-0.04%) to 15,565.
Regarding U.S. economic data, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 72.6 in July (vs 64.5 expected), the highest level since September 2021.
Import prices tumbled 6.1% on year in June, the biggest annual drop since May 2020.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbed 6.3 basis points to 3.826%.
Health-care equipment & services (+2.32%), pharmaceuticals & biotechnology (+0.89%), and automobiles (+0.79%) stock sectors emerged as the top performers, while energy (-2.75%), telecoms services (-2.29%), and semiconductors (-1.00%) sectors underperformed the market.
UnitedHealth (UNH) jumped 7.24%. The private health insurance provider posted upbeat second-quarter sales and earnings.
Microsoft (MSFT) ended with a modest gain of 0.75%. The software giant was upgraded to "buy" at UBS.
On the other hand, Citigroup (C) fell 4.05% as the bank's quarterly results missed expectations.
Also, State Street (STT), an investment services firm, plunged 12.08%.
Alcoa (AA) dropped 5.91%. The major American aluminum producer was downgraded to "neutral" at JPMorgan.
AT&T (T) sank 4.10%. The major U.S. wireless communication carrier was downgraded to "neutral" at JPMorgan.
European stocks also closed mixed. The DAX 40 fell 0.22%, the FTSE 100 dipped 0.08%, while the CAC 40 edged up 0.06%.
U.S. WTI crude futures dropped $1.70 to $75.24 a barrel.
Gold fell $5 to $1,955 an ounce.
Market Wrap: Forex
The U.S. dollar index showed sign of stabilization after sinking for six sessions, but was still below the key level of 100.00.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1226, GBP/USD retreated 43 pips to 1.3093.
USD/JPY rebounded 81 pips to 138.86 halting a six-session losing streak.
AUD/USD slipped 55 pips to 0.6834.
USD/CHF climbed 35 pips to 0.8623, and USD/CAD jumped 113 pips to 1.3223.
Bitcoin saw volatile trading, as it once advanced to $31,645 before reversing course to slide to $30,330.
Market Wrap: Stocks, Bonds, Commodities
On Friday, major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 113 points (+0.33%) to 34,509, while the S&P 500 declined 4 points (-0.10%) to 4,505, and the Nasdaq 100 dipped 6.38 points (-0.04%) to 15,565.
Regarding U.S. economic data, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 72.6 in July (vs 64.5 expected), the highest level since September 2021.
Import prices tumbled 6.1% on year in June, the biggest annual drop since May 2020.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbed 6.3 basis points to 3.826%.
Health-care equipment & services (+2.32%), pharmaceuticals & biotechnology (+0.89%), and automobiles (+0.79%) stock sectors emerged as the top performers, while energy (-2.75%), telecoms services (-2.29%), and semiconductors (-1.00%) sectors underperformed the market.
UnitedHealth (UNH) jumped 7.24%. The private health insurance provider posted upbeat second-quarter sales and earnings.
Microsoft (MSFT) ended with a modest gain of 0.75%. The software giant was upgraded to "buy" at UBS.
On the other hand, Citigroup (C) fell 4.05% as the bank's quarterly results missed expectations.
Also, State Street (STT), an investment services firm, plunged 12.08%.
Alcoa (AA) dropped 5.91%. The major American aluminum producer was downgraded to "neutral" at JPMorgan.
AT&T (T) sank 4.10%. The major U.S. wireless communication carrier was downgraded to "neutral" at JPMorgan.
European stocks also closed mixed. The DAX 40 fell 0.22%, the FTSE 100 dipped 0.08%, while the CAC 40 edged up 0.06%.
U.S. WTI crude futures dropped $1.70 to $75.24 a barrel.
Gold fell $5 to $1,955 an ounce.
Market Wrap: Forex
The U.S. dollar index showed sign of stabilization after sinking for six sessions, but was still below the key level of 100.00.
EUR/USD was little changed at 1.1226, GBP/USD retreated 43 pips to 1.3093.
USD/JPY rebounded 81 pips to 138.86 halting a six-session losing streak.
AUD/USD slipped 55 pips to 0.6834.
USD/CHF climbed 35 pips to 0.8623, and USD/CAD jumped 113 pips to 1.3223.
Bitcoin saw volatile trading, as it once advanced to $31,645 before reversing course to slide to $30,330.
