Apple shares ended the day with a sizable loss of 0.8%
U.S. stock-market indices eked out small gains with all three benchmarks closing at all-time highs on Wednesday, 13 September 2017. The main indexes spent most of the session flipping between small gains and losses as investors took a pause after several days of gains.
The Dow closed higher by 39.32 points to end at 22159.48. The S&P 500 added 1.89 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,498.37. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 5.91 points, or 0.1%, to 6,460.19.
Among the main performers on Wall Street, Apple shares dropped as the new iPhone X is not scheduled to ship before November. Traders kept an eye on Apple throughout the midweek session, looking to see how the tech giant would respond to yesterday's product event in which the company unveiled a trio of iPhones, including the much-anticipated iPhone X. Apple shares were weak throughout the session and eventually ended the day with a sizable loss of 0.8%.
Economic data at wall Street showed that producer prices rose 0.2% in August, while the consensus expected an increase of 0.3%. Meanwhile, core producer prices rose 0.1%, which is below the 0.2% increase that the consensus expected. Year-over-year, core producer prices are up 2.0%. The key takeaway from the report is that producer prices picked up in August without any full-scale impact from Hurricane Harvey, which will presumably help drive up producer prices in September along with Hurricane Irma.
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Separately, the Treasury Budget for August showed a deficit of $107.7 billion versus a deficit of $107.1 billion for August 2016. The Treasury Budget data is not seasonally adjusted, so the August deficit cannot be compared to the $42.9 billion deficit registered in July. Also, the weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index increased 9.9% to follow last week's 3.3% rise.
The market's Federal Reserve wait-and-see game continues with speakers shifting into a blackout commentary period ahead of a policy meeting next week. The Fed raised interest rates twice this year in response to steady growth and falling unemployment, but mostly soft inflation data have tempered market expectations for another hike before the year.
Oil tallied a third straight gain on Wednesday, 13 September 2017 with U.S. prices settling at a five-week high and Brent at its highest since April, buoyed by a report from the International Energy Agency that showed global crude production fell for the first time in four months in August.
Traders also weighed weekly data from the U.S. government which revealed a smaller-than-expected rise in crude supplies, a hefty drop in gasoline stockpiles and a jump in domestic output as production in the Gulf of Mexico recovered in the wake of disruptions from Hurricane Harvey.
October West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery added $1.07, or 2.2%, to settle at $49.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, for the highest finish since Aug. 9. November Brent, the global benchmark, climbed 89 cents, or 1.6%, to end at $55.16 a barrel, which was the highest finish since mid-April.
Early Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said domestic crude supplies climbed by 5.9 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 8. That's below the forecast for a rise of 10.1 million barrels expected by market. The American Petroleum Institute had reported late Tuesday an increase of 6.2 million barrels. But the EIA also reported that total domestic U.S. crude output jumped by 572,000 barrels a day to 9.353 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles were down 8.4 million barrels for the week. That was larger than the expectations for a 4 million-barrel fall.
Bullion prices ended lower at Comex on Wednesday, 13 September 2017 at Comex. Gold prices fell on Wednesday for a third session in a row, marking their lowest finish for the month to date as a leading dollar index strengthened, adding to its gain for the week and dulling investment demand for the precious metal.
Gold for December delivery fell $4.70, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,328 an ounce, pulling back from an intraday high above $1,340. December silver fell 2.3 cents, or 0.1%, to $17.867 an ounce.
In the bond market, Treasuries slipped once again, sending yields higher for the third session in a row. The benchmark 10-yr yield climbed three basis points to 2.20%, which marks its best level of the month. The U.S. Dollar Index jumped 0.6% to register its third-consecutive advance.
On Thursday, investors will receive two pieces of economic data - the Consumer Price Index for August (consensus +0.3%) and the Weekly Initial Claims Report (consensus 310K). Both reports will be released at 8:30 ET.
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