Stocks end mixed on a weekly basis though
U.S. stocks ended lower on Friday, 21 February 2014 and finished mostly down for the week. Stocks spent most of the session in modestly positive territory, but those gains faded by day's end. The opening rally was supported by the largest S&P 500 sector, technology, which outperformed during the first 90 minutes of action. However, the morning leader became an afternoon laggard after the S&P 500's failed run at new record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 29.93 points, or 0.2%, to finish at 16,103.30. The Dow dipped 0.3% for the week, also halting a two-week winning streak. The Nasdaq Composite edged down 4.13 points, or 0.1%, to close at 4,263.41. But the tech-laden index still finished up 0.5% for the week. The S&P 500 dipped 3.53 points, or 0.2%, to close at 1,836.25, as telecoms fared worst and consumer discretionary performed best. The benchmark index lost 0.1% for the week.
Nike and Walt Disney both gained 1.2% to lead the Dow, while Verizon Communications fell 1.8% for the worst performance among blue chips.
The tech sector was a laggard while top components like Apple, Facebook and Intel lost between 1.1% and 1.5%. Another tech component, Hewlett-Packard lost 1.3% despite beating on earnings and revenue.
Among individual stocks, Groupon slid 22% after the daily-deals company late Thursday delivered a disappointing outlook. Hewlett-Packard fell 1.3%, as the PC and printers maker cut short an early rally on its upbeat quarterly results.
More From This Section
In a speech on Friday, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said the central bank should continue to reduce the pace of its asset-purchase program. At a separate event, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the U.S. economy is headed for a good year of growth and he expects the Fed to continue tapering the bond-buying program.
Bullion prices ended moderately higher at Comex on Friday, 21 February 2014. Gold futures closed higher on Friday, with violence in Ukraine fueling some haven support as traders looked to speeches from Federal Reserve officials for clues on the central bank's monetary policy plans and to the weekend meeting of the Group of 20 nations.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $6.70, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,323.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, prices finished around 0.4% higher to tally their third weekly gain in a row. March silver advanced nearly 10 cents, or 0.5%, to $21.78 an ounce, roughly 1.7% higher on the week.
Crude oil prices closed lower at Nymex on Friday, 21 February 2014 as traders looked to the week's economic data for hints on the demand outlook and continued to digest data showing a rise in weekly U.S. crude inventories. April crude-oil futures on its first full trading day as a front-month contract, dipped 55 cents, or 0.5%, to settle at $102.20 a barrel on Nymex.
Trading volume was above average, which resulted from options expiration. Nearly 800 million shares changed hands at the NYSE.
Treasuries posted modest gains with the benchmark 10-yr yield ending lower by two basis points at 2.73%.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News