Traders looked past a pair of disappointing economic reports
The stock market at Wall Street registered modest gains on Wednesday, 25 June 2014 as participants looked past a pair of disappointing economic reports. U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, recovering from a weak revision of first-quarter economic performance, as media stocks got a lift from a Supreme Court ruling and refinery stocks dropped on a weakening of an oil export ban.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 49.38 points, or 0.3%, to finish at 16,867.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 29.40 points, or 0.7%, to close at 4,379.76. The S&P 500 Index rose 9.55 points, or 0.5%, to end at 1,959.53.
Economic data at Wall Street today included Q1 GDP, May Durable Orders, and the weekly MBA Mortgage Index. The first quarter U.S. gross domestic product report was released Wednesday morning and showed a drop of 2.9%, which was the largest quarterly decline in years. Also, U.S. durable goods orders fell by 1.0% in May after increasing an upwardly revised 0.8% (from 0.6%) in April. The consensus expected durable goods orders to increase 0.4%. The weekly MBA Mortgage Index fell 1.0% to follow last week's 9.2% decline.
There were no major developments on the world market place overnight. The civil war in Iraq remains an important market element. The Russia-Ukraine civil unrest is still simmering in the background.
Google kicked off its annual I/O developers conference in San Francisco. The tech-heavy index scored its highest close since April 2000.
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On the downside, the consumer staples sector spent the entire session climbing off lows, but still ended in the red as General Mills weighed after reporting disappointing earnings.
Participation remained in line with recent averages as less than 650 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.
Crude oil futures climbed on Wednesday, 25 June 2014 with the U.S. benchmark logging the first gain in three sessions after the Obama administration loosened a ban on crude exports. Prices saw some pressure during the session after government data early Wednesday showed U.S. durable goods fell by 1% in May and the economy shrank more than previously expected in the first quarter, while U.S. crude inventories rose last week.
Crude oil for August delivery climbed 47 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $106.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after tapping a high of $107.50 in electronic trading overnight. Just ahead of the government supply data, the contract was at $105.85.
Early Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude stockpiles rose 1.7 million barrels for the week ended 20 June 2014. Market had forecast a decline of 2 million barrels for crude. Gasoline supplies climbed by 700,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles rose 1.2 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles were expected to climb by 2 million barrels, while distillates, which include heating oil, were seen up 1 million barrels.
Bullion metals ended higher on Wednesday, 25 June 2014. Some downbeat U.S. economic data gave the gold market a lift from the lower levels seen in overnight trading. Gold futures marked a sixth straight session gain on Wednesday as the dollar weakened on news that the U.S. economy shrank much more than previously expected in the first quarter.
Gold for August delivery tacked on $1.30, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,322.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. July silver closed up 7 cents, or 0.4%, at $21.12 an ounce.
Tomorrow, weekly initial claims (consensus 310K), May Personal Income (consensus 0.4%), Personal Spending (consensus 0.4%), and Core PCE Prices (consensus 0.2%) will all be announced at 8:30 ET.
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