Stocks finished mixed Friday, with the Nasdaq closing at a new high once again in a week marked by a series of records despite hawkish rate messaging from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 57.94 points, or 0.15%, to end at 38,589.16, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.04% to end at 5,431.60 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq squeaked up 0.12% to 17,688.88 for its straight record.
The S&P racked up record closes for four days in a row during the week.
The University of Michigan's benchmark survey of consumer sentiment slipped 3.5 points, to 65.6, for the month of June, but remains firmly above the trough it reached in the spring of 2022.
"Given the improved inflation dynamics we observed this week and the expectations that consumer spending could slow, especially on items like furniture and vehicles, the Fed should find themselves in a fortunate spot to ease interest rates later this year before something breaks in the economy," said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist for LPL Financial.
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Updated at 11:40 AM EDT
Le Euro shock
France's CAC-40, the region's second-largest index of bluechip shares, closed 2.7% lower Friday to extend its weeklong decline to around 6.5% following polling data that suggests far right leader Marine Le Pen holds a firm lead of President Emmanuel Macron heading into the first round of the country's elections on June 30.
Macron, who called the snap poll in a effort to thwart the far right's advance following a series of victories in European parliamentary elections last weekend, now sits in third behind Le Pen's National Party and a coalition of left wing rivals.
French stock mkt rout intensifies. Benchmark index CAC-40 sinks another 2.4%. It has plunged 6% since Monday, heading for the worst week since 2022 over fears of a far-right election win. pic.twitter.com/b3Ikdqmd4U
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) June 14, 2024
Updated at 11:09 AM EDT
Sell the news
Tesla shares turned lower in late-morning trading, and were last marked 1.8% to the downside at $179.20 each, following last night's win for CEO Elon Musk in two key shareholders votes.
The first, which authorizes the long-delayed $55.8 billion pay deal, was supported by 77% of investors, with a slightly smaller amount backing Musk's plans to shift the company's incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
Related: Analysts weigh in on Tesla as Musk takes $56 billion victory lap
Updated at 10:07 AM EDT
Go Blue?
The University of Michigan's benchmark survey of consumer sentiment slipped 3.5 points, to 65.6, for the month of June, but remains firmly above the trough it reached in the spring of 2022.
"Assessments of personal finances dipped, due to modestly rising concerns over high prices as well as weakening incomes," the survey noted. "Overall, consumers perceive few changes in the economy from May."
Benchmark 10-year notes yields were little-changed at 4.209%, the lowest since late March, following the data release while 2-year notes held at 4.695%, the lowest since early April.
⚠️ U.S. TREASURY YIELDS HOLD DECLINES AFTER UMICH CONSUMER SENTIMENT DATA; 10-YEAR YIELD LAST DOWN 3.3 BASIS POINTS TO 4.207%
— PiQ (@PiQSuite) June 14, 2024
Updated at 9:40 AM EDT
Friday fall
The S&P 500 was marked 17 points, or 0.32% lower in the opening minutes of trading while the Nasdaq slipped 44 points, or 0.25%. The Dow was marked around 155 lower.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Jun. 14, 2024)$SPY -0.31%🟥$QQQ -0.07%🟥$DJI -0.55%🟥$IWM -1.28%🟥 pic.twitter.com/JEkaDad9GM
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) June 14, 2024
Updated at 9:04 AM EDT
Good, but not great
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester told CNBC Friday that she welcomed data showing that "inflation is moving back down again" but echoed the central bank's view that more data will be needed to justify and autumn rate cut.
“We are in a good position with monetary policy," Mester said, but added that it's important not to wait "too long" to lower rates should inflation continue to ebb.
Loretta Mester (Cleveland Fed President) on CNBC: When the Fed is confident that inflation is on a path to 2%, it will cut interest rates, perhaps in a few months.
— David Kass (@DrDavidKass) June 14, 2024
Stock Market Today
Big tech gains are once again driving the bulk of the market's weekly gains, with Apple (AAPL) notching its best three-day run in four years in a move that added around $320 billion to its market capitalization and put it back above Microsoft (MSFT) as the world's valuable company.
The number of stocks trading at their 100-day moving averages, a key performance metric on Wall Street, fell to 45% last night, the lowest since mid-November.
That could be why markets are looking weaker heading into the start of Friday trading despite another leg lower in Treasury bond yields, which followed yesterday's solid auction of 30-year paper and a softer-than-expected reading for May producer price inflation.
TheStreet/Shutterstock
Benchmark 10-year note yields were marked at 4.209% heading into the start of the New York trading session, with 2-year notes pegged at 4.679%.
The U.S. dollar index, meanwhile, was propped up by weakness in both the euro and the yen and was last marked 0.41% higher against its global currency peers at 105.619.
Wall Street may also be eyeing the selloff in Europe, where a surge in support for far-right candidates in last week's parliamentary elections triggered a snap poll in France for later this month. President Emmanuel Macron now trails his longtime rival, the far-right veteran Marine Le Pen.
Related: Waiting for a Fed rate cut to buy stocks may be a mistake (again)
Futures contracts tied to the S&P 500 suggest a 19 point pullback for the benchmark, which remains nearly 14% higher for the year, with a 235 point decline expected for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
The tech-focused Nasdaq, meanwhile, is called just 17 points lower, with support from early gains for Nvidia NVDA and Tesla (TSLA) .
Tesla shares, in fact, are getting a boost from two key shareholder-vote wins for CEO Elon Musk, who received backing for his $55.8 billion pay deal from 2018 and his plans to move the carmaker's incorporation to Texas from Delaware.
Adobe (ADBE) shares were also on the move, rising 14.6% after the group posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings and lifted its full-year revenue guidance on the back of surging demand for its AI-powered software.
RH (RH) shares, on the other hand, tumbled 11.2% after the former Restoration Hardware retail group provided a muted near-term sales outlook, adding that a "constantly changing outlook" would continue to weigh on the housing sector.
GameStop (GME) shares slipped 2.6% following reports that retail investor Keith Gill had sold most of this options contracts tied to the money-losing retailer, leaving him with a position of around 9 million shares.
Related: Keith Gill’s net worth: How much did the “Dumb Money” investor make on GameStop?
In Europe, the fallout from last week's elections continues to weigh on markets, with the regionwide Stoxx 600 falling 0.84% in Frankfurt and Britain's FTSE 100 marked 0.47% lower in London.
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Overnight in Asia, the Bank of Japan made its first step towards trimming purchases in its massive bond portfolio, but stopped short of providing details on the timing, suggesting it's likely to wait until well into the back half of the year.
The decision weakened the yen to 157.02 against the dollar and helped export stocks on the Nikkei 225, which ended the session 0.24% higher at 38,814.56 points.
The regional MSCI ex-Japan benchmark, meanwhile, slipped 0.19% into the close of trading.
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