U.S. stock markets closed mostly lower n Friday following trade and tariff related concerns. However, economic data were strong. The Dow and the S&P 500 ended in negative territory while the Nasdaq Composite finished in positive zone. For the week as a whole, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed in positive zone while the Dow ended marginally lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 0.3% or 142.30 points to close at 44,342.19 after a choppy session. Notably, 19 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory and 11 finished in positive zone. At intraday high, the blue-chip index was up 229.50 points.
The major loser of the index was 3M Co. MMM. The stock price of the multi-sector conglomerate was down 3.7% after the company said that the impacts of tariffs will be felt in the second half. 3M currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 20,895.66, rising 10 points due to strong performance of technology bigwigs. This was a new record-high closing for the index. Moreover, in intraday trading, the tech-laden index posted an all-time high of 20,980.56.
The S&P 500 was down 0.57 points to finish at 6,296.79. In intraday trading, Wall Street’s most observed benchmark posted a new all-time high of 6,315.61. Six out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while five in positive zone.
The Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) advanced 1.7% and 0.9%, respectively, On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) fell 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.7% to 16.41.
The Financial Times reported citing three genuine sources that the Trump administration is negotiating with the European Union (EU) to impose at least 15-20% tariffs in any deal. Earlier, President Donald Trump said that he will impose a 30% tariff on EU if it fails to clinch a deal with the United States before the Aug 1 dateline.
The EU is the single largest block that collectively exports more to the United States than any single country: Total U.S. goods imports from the EU topped $553 billion in 2022, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Total U.S. imports from Mexico were approximately $454.8 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Trade Representative.
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