Stocks cut losses to end volatile week
Stocks recouped a good portion of their losses on Friday amid ongoing volatility but still closed in the red.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 38239.66 | +153.86 | +0.40% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5099.96 | +51.54 | +1.02% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15927.900321 | +316.14 | +2.03% |
All three of the major market averages were down over 1-percent, before cutting some of those losses, following President Trump firing another warning shot at the Chinese. He also hinted that trade talks set for September could be on or off.
Trump also squashed the idea of devaluing the U.S. dollar in response to China's weakening of the yuan which fell to the lowest level since 2008 this week.
"We are not ready to make a deal," said Trump as he headed off for the weekend to attend two fundraisers in New York one of which is being held by billionaire Stephen Ross which has prompted calls to boycott his businesses, including Equinox and SoulCycle. Trump described Ross as a "great friend" and a "liberal" in response to questions from reporters.
He also reiterated that China continues to treat the U.S. poorly, behavior that has been tolerated for years. "Nobody has done anything about it" he added.
In deal news, FOX Business reports CBS and Viacom could announce a merger of the two media properties Monday or perhaps sooner. Both shares closed lower.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CBS | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| VIA | VIA RENEWABLES | 10.88 | 0.00 | 0.00% |
Also putting pressure on stocks, bad news on the British economy which contracted for the first time since 2012.
UK gross domestic product fell at a quarterly rate of 0.2 percent, a Reuters poll expected a flat reading. Year-on-year economic growth slid to 1.2 percent from 1.8 percent in the first quarter.
Technology stocks were mixed after Bloomberg reported that Washington was delaying a decision about allowing some licenses between U.S. companies and China's Huawei. When asked about Huawei, Trump said the U.S. was not going to do any business with the Chinese telecom giant until a trade deal is reached.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MU | MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC. | 114.84 | +3.26 | +2.92% |
| QCOM | QUALCOMM INC. | 165.66 | +2.36 | +1.45% |
| AMD | ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC. | 157.40 | +3.64 | +2.37% |
Shares of Uber fell 6 percent after posting a $5.2 billion quarterly loss. Rival Lyft enjoyed better results, sending shares higher, after beating estimates for second-quarter revenue and said the loss for 2019 would be less than its prior forecast.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 69.05 | -0.26 | -0.38% |
| LYFT | LYFT INC. | 16.37 | +0.30 | +1.87% |
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Safe havens such as gold rose above $1,500 on Friday, its highest in more than six years.
In economic news, the Labor Department said on Friday its producer price index rose 0.2 percent last month, in line with expectations. In the 12 months through July, the PPI increased 1.7 percent, the same margin seen in June.