Stocks are mostly lower in mid-day trading on Friday, largely offsetting the strength seen in the previous session. Selling pressure has remained somewhat subdued, however, limiting the downside for the major averages.
Currently, the major averages are off their worst levels of the day but still in negative territory. The Dow is down 116.22 points or 0.3 percent at 34,968.31, the Nasdaq is down 88.19 points or 0.6 percent at 14,690.07 and the S&P 500 is down 19.68 points or 0.5 percent at 4,399.47.
A steep drop from Amazon (AMZN) is weighing on the markets, with the online retail giant currently down by 6.9 percent after hitting its lowest intraday level in well over a month.
The nosedive by Amazon comes after the company reported second quarter earnings that beat expectations, but its revenues missed estimates for the first time since the third quarter of 2018.
Shares of Pinterest (PINS) have also moved sharply lower after the image-sharing website operator reported better than expected second quarter earnings and revenues but a quarterly decline in monthly average users.
Caterpillar (CAT), Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) have also moved to the downside despite reporting quarterly results that exceeded analyst estimates.
On the other hand, Procter & Gamble (PG) is posting a strong gain after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results, although the consumer products giant also warned about the impact of higher input costs.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report unexpectedly showing a slight increase in personal income in the month of June.
The report showed personal income inched up by 0.1 percent in June after tumbling by a revised 2.2 percent in May.
The uptick surprised economists, who had expected personal income to dip by 0.3 percent compared to the 2.0 percent slump originally reported for the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal spending jumped by 1.0 percent in June after edging down by a revised 0.1 percent in May.
Economists had expected personal spending to increase by 0.7 percent compared to the unchanged reading originally reported for the previous month.
The report also showed the annual rate of core consumer price growth crept up to 3.5 percent in June from 3.4 percent in May.
Revised data released by the University of Michigan showed consumer sentiment in U.S. decreased by slightly less than initially estimated in the month of July.
The report said the consumer sentiment index for July was upwardly revised to 81.2 from a preliminary reading of 80.8 but remains below the June reading of 85.5. Economists had expected the index to be unrevised.
Sector News
Retail stocks continue to see substantial weakness amid the steep drop by Amazon, with the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index tumbling by 2.9 percent. Earlier in the session, the index hit its lowest intraday level in a month.
Significant weakness also remains visible among energy stocks, which are moving lower even as the price of crude oil for September delivery is rising $0.16 to $73.78 a barrel.
Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index is down by 2.2 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil Index is down by 1.8 percent.
Airline stocks have also shown a notable move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2.2 percent.
Steel, natural gas and banking stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 1.8 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved higher after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 4 basis points at 1.229 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Remain Mostly Lower In Mid-Day Trading
2021-07-30 16:23:20
