Stocks finished mixed Friday as AI chipmaking giant Nvidia slipped for the second day.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15.57 points, or 0.04% to close at 39,150.33, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.16% to finish at 5,464.62, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.18% to end the day at 17,689.36.
The S&P notched an intraday record of 5,505.53, and 0.6% weekly advance, according to CNBC. The Nasdaq finished the week flat, while the Dow rose 1.45% for its best weekly performance since May.
In economic news, existing home sales pulled back 0.7% to 4.11 million at a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate in May, slightly above the consensus forecast for 4.10 million.
In addition, the Manufacturing PMI released by S&P Global rose to 51.7 in the June flash estimate from 51.0 in May, and the Services PMI rose to 55.1 from 54.8. The Services PMI reached a 26-month high.
“Slow-and-steady economic growth is consistent with expectations for the Fed to begin cutting interest rates gradually in the second half of 2024,” Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank.
“Comerica forecasts for the Fed to reduce the federal funds rate twice in the second half of 2024, making quarter percentage point rate reductions in September and December," he said.
Updated at 12:05 PM EDT
Mid-day lull
Stocks are essentially flat heading into the final afternoon session of the week, with muted volatility levels ahead of the triple witching hour prior to today's close.
The S&P 500 just turned modestly higher on the day, and was last marked 3 points, or 0.04% higher, with the Nasdaq up 50 points, or 0.3% and the Dow down 18 points.
Stocks have historically generated above-average returns after periods of low implied volatility. However, seasonal VIX trends and rising expectations for increased volatility of volatility suggest the current low-vol window could soon be closed. More ⬇️https://t.co/6iwMQ99wmx
— Adam Turnquist, CMT (@adam_turnquist) June 20, 2024
Updated at 10:12 AM EDT
Mixed start
A stronger-than-expected reading from S&P Global's June PMI report, which showed overall activity expanding firmly over the final month of the quarter with moderating price gains, is keeping stocks in check over the opening hour of the trading day.
The S&P 500 was last marked 11 points, or 0.19% to the downside, with a 55 point decline for the tech-focused Nasdaq. The Dow was last seen 76 points higher.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury note yields rose 3 basis points to trade at 4.259%, while 2-year notes were pegged at 4.732%.
S&P 500 Opening Bell Heatmap (Jun. 21, 2024)$SPY -0.47%🟥$QQQ -0.10%🟥$DJI +0.06%🟩$IWM -0.17%🟥 pic.twitter.com/wmGSgBCOsm
— Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) June 21, 2024
Updated at 9:02 AM EDT
Apple AI boost
Apple shares are edging higher in premarket trading, and look set to resume their place as the market's second biggest stock, following an early Friday price target upgrade from Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi.
Apple shares were last marked 0.85% higher at $211.47 each, a move that would extend their year-to-date gain to around 15%.
Related: Top analyst revisits Apple stock price target following AI push
Stock Market Today
Stocks ended modestly lower Thursday after a pullback in Nvidia (NVDA) , which briefly assumed the title of world's most-valuable stock, lost momentum toward the end of the session and pulled both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lower over the final hours of trading.
Megacap-tech moves will be key to the market's performance again today, although investors will also be closely tracking S&P Global's benchmark PMI reading for the month of June. That report is expected to show a modest pullback in both services sector and manufacturing activity while still indicating solid overall expansion.
Related: Housing market seeks Fed rate-cut relief as sales slump
The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow reading in fact was trimmed late Thursday to a current-quarter growth rate of 3%, still more than double the official pace recorded over the first three months of the year.
Markets will also keep a close eye on the impact of the so-called triple witching hour, a quarterly event that sees the expiry of options on equity indexes, exchange-traded funds and futures.
Around $5.5 trillion in options are set to expire Friday in a move that could ignite the market's key volatility index, CBOE Group's VIX, over the the coming days.
The VIX was last marked 7.8% higher in early trading at $13.45, suggesting traders expect daily swings for the S&P 500 of around 0.84%, or 46 points, over the next 30 days.
Heading into the start of the trading day on Wall Street, futures contracts tied to the S&P 500, which is up 4.16% for the quarter, are priced for a 10-point opening-bell decline.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, meanwhile, is called 63 points lower while the tech-focused Nasdaq is set for a 46-point pullback.
Stocks on the move include Nvidia, which is down another 1.7% in premarket trading following last night's 3.5% slump, as well as chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Micron Technology (MU) , which are down 0.9% and 1.3% respectively.
Related: Nvidia has $4 trillion value in sight as AI seen powering chip sales
In Europe, the regionwide Stoxx 600 was marked 0.87% lower in Frankfurt, but is still on pace for a modest weekly gain. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.84% following yesterday's Bank of England rate decision.
More Wall Street Analysts:
- Analyst updates Oracle stock price target after earnings
- Analyst reboots Trade Desk stock price target after Netflix deal
- Analysts adjust Micron stock price target ahead of earnings
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 ended 0.09% lower on the day, snapping a three-day win streak, and ended the week with a 0.49% decline.
The regionwide MSCI ex-Japan benchmark was down 0.8% into the final hours of trading with declines across the board in China, Hong Kong and South Korea.
Related: Veteran fund manager picks favorite stocks for 2024
