Friday was a bad day for U.S. stocks, with the S&P 500 on track to end the week in the red, making it the worst week since the banking crisis in mid-March and putting an end to a five-week winning run.
The U.S. dollar, Treasuries and gold all gained some ground, indicating a boost in safe haven demand amid a sell-off in risky assets. Among sectors, technology and energy were the worst performers.
June flash PMIs for the U.S. revealed the services sector remained robust last month, but manufacturing fell by the greatest degree that it has this year, far more than projected.
Despite the recent slowing in inflation and softening in economic activity, Fed Chair Jerome Powell made hawkish remarks this week during his testimony before Congress, opening the door to two more rate hikes this year.
Key Highlights From Friday’s Trading:
Every major U.S. stock market index lost ground Friday and was set to finish the week in the red.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively. Both indexes were down 1.2% for the week.
The blue-chip Dow Jones 30 Index dropped 0.5% on Friday and 1.5% for the week.
Small caps in the Russell 2000 fell 0.7% today, and 2.3% this week.
U.S. Indices’ Performance on Friday
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.76% | 14,954.53 |
| S&P 500 Index | -0.51% | 4,365.86 |
| Dow Industrials | -0.45% | 33,794.19 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.86% | 1,832.17 |
Analyst Color:
The major indices are up solidly so far this month. Going by historical performance, an analyst sees this as positive for the market.
Carson Group's Ryan Detrick noted that when the S&P 500 is up between 10%-15% for the six months ended in June, the index has advanced for the rest of the year 12 out of 12 times. With six sessions to go before the end of the first half, the S&P 500 is up 14.13%.
More importantly, the median gain is about 11%, Detrick said. The average year median gain for the final six months has been 5%, he added.
Friday’s Trading In Major US Equity ETFs: In midday trading on Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.5% lower to $434, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA fell 0.44% to $337 and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ was 0.6% lower to $364, according to Benzinga Pro data.
All U.S. equity sectors were negative. The underperformers were the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU, the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK, down by 1%, 0.9% and 0.7%, respectively.
Latest Economic Data:
According to preliminary estimates, the S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI fell to 46.3 in June 2023, indicating the largest contraction in the manufacturing sector since December, compared to 48.4 in May and projections of 48.5.
The S&P Global US Services PMI ticked down from 54.9 in May to 54.1 in June, slightly better than expectations of 54.
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Stocks In Focus:
- Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. SWBI shares rallied by 18% following a stronger-than-expected financial results last quarter.
- Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. SPCE tumbled by nearly 20% following company’s announcement to sell an additional $400 million in shares for investments in spaceship fleet and infrastructure for commercial space operations.
- CarMax, Inc. KMX rose 8.5% after reporting better-than-expected results.
- Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN rose 5% on the back of a broad-based crypto rally.
Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:
Crude oil fell 1%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude dropping to $68. The United States Oil Fund ETF USO was 0.7% lower to $62 per share.
Treasury yields fell slightly, with the 10-year yield down by 4 basis points to 3.75% and the two-year yield down by 1 basis point to 4.63%. The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT was 0.9% higher for the day.
The dollar rose, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, up 0.6%. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust FXE, was 0.6% lower to 1.089.
European equity indices closed in the red. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 Etf FEZ fell 1.3%.
Gold ticked 0.2% to $1,918/oz. The SPDR Gold Trust GLD was 0.3% higher to $178. Silver rose 0.4% to $22.3, with the iShares Silver Trust SLV down 0.2% to $20. Bitcoin BTC/USD was 4% higher to $31,110.
Staff writer Piero Cingari updated this report midday Friday.
Read Next: Third Consecutive Week Of Higher-Than-Expected Unemployment Claims: Is US Job Market Losing Steam?
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