The major stock market indexes were mixed, down in the last hour, and off the highs of the day. Investors were unfazed after data showed that inflation is hanging on and durable goods are dropping off. Blizzard stock probes new highs.
The S&P 500 regained 0.4% and Nasdaq gave back 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%. The Russell 2000 small-cap index was in-line with other major indexes, inching up 0.3%.
The S&P 500 is below its 50-day moving average and the Dow is above, but finding resistance at its 21-day exponential moving average.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100-tracking Invesco QQQ trust ETF was unchanged..
Volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq were lower vs. the same time on Thursday.
Crude oil gained 2.8% to a three-week high at $79.71 per barrel. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF popped 2.6%. Natural gas regained 1.8% and is trading above $5 per million British thermal units.
Bitcoin futures edged up 0.4% to $16,800. The 10-year Treasury note yield gained 5-basis points to 3.74%.
European markets were mixed, with the German DAX adding 0.2% while the Paris CAC 40 trimmed 0.2%. The London FTSE 100 rose 0.1% in afternoon trading.
Odds for a 25-basis-point hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve at the February meeting stand at 66.4%. That would take the yield to the 4.5%-4.75% range. Meanwhile, 33.6% are looking for a 50-basis-point hike, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.
No Surprises in Personal Spending
November Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) rose 0.1% in Friday's stock market vs. the 0.2% projected. PCE looks at the flow of durable goods, nondurable goods and services.
"You have weakness in goods demand, but all the services sectors still look pretty good," said Citigroup economist Veronica Clark.
Core inflation also rose by 0.1%, lower than the 0.2% projected. November PCE inflation was in-line with 5.5% expectations, while the core CPI inflation hit 4.7%, higher than the 4.6% consensus.
November month-over-month Personal Income rose 0.4% vs. the 0.3% consensus, showing continued strength in consumer wealth. Personal income includes wages and salaries, employer contributions to private pension plans, rental income, dividends and interest.
Durable goods orders fell 2.1%, a bigger drop than the 0.8% consensus. This data forecasts how busy factories will be in upcoming months, offering insight into demand for items such as refrigerators and cars, and business investment such as industrial and electrical machinery, and computers.
Stock Market Movers: Cloud Stock Plunges, Oil Stocks Lead
Energy producer ConocoPhillips gained 4% in Friday's stock market. This S&P 500 leader is finding resistance at its 21-day exponential moving average.
Fellow oil giant and Dow Jones component Chevron was up 2.8%, leading the venerable index. Shares are in a newly-formed flat base and finding support at its 21-day exponential moving average.
Nutanix dropped 5.6% on news that Hewlett Packard Enterprise halted talks to acquire the enterprise cloud platform. Shares of the HPE were down 0.7%.
Nvidia sank another 1.3%, on top of yesterday's 7% decline in heavy volume. Chips stocks fell in sympathy with Micron after the reporting disappointing fiscal Q1 2023 numbers on Wednesday.
Stock Market: IBD 50 Pipe Stock Keeps Going, Snowblower Stock Gains On Blizzard
The Innovator IBD 50 ETF dipped 0.1% and was inline with the major indexes.
Steel pipe manufacture Tenaris gained 1.4% and is nearing the buy point of a flat base.
Driver-assisted technology developer Mobileye gave back earlier gains, up 0.3% and is an IBD 50 leader. Shares are extended from the buy zone of an IPO base with 29.96 buy point.
Toro rose 1.7% after the company reported better-than-expected fiscal Q4 2022 adjusted EPS, but missed the sales estimate on Wednesday. Raymond James upgraded the snowblower and landscaping heavy equipment stock to outperform, from market perform, adding a 130 price target.
In addition, TTC stock is in the 5% buy zone after hitting the 107.86 buy point of a cup-with-handle base. Shares are about 2% off its 52-week high.
Catalyst Pharmaceuticals pulled back from earlier gains, down 0.6% and is extended from the buy zone of a cup-with-handle base with buy point of 16.76.
