Dow Jones and Standard and Poors 500 rise, Nasdaq slips Friday

17 Oct 2020

NEW YORK, Oct. 16 (Xinhua/Big News Network) — U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday as investors pored through the nation’s monthly retail sales data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 112.11 points, or 0.39 percent, to 28,606.31. The S&P 500 was up 0.47 points, or 0.01 percent, to 3,483.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 42.32 points, or 0.36 percent, to 11,671.56.

Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors finished higher, with utilities up 1.08 percent, leading the advancers. Energy dipped 2.3 percent, the worst-performing group.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly higher, with eight of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on an upbeat note.

The moves came after data showed U.S. retail sales rose more than expected last month.

U.S. retail sales climbed 1.9 percent in September, the Department of Commerce reported on Friday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 1.2 percent increase.

“There’s a lot of healing in that chart, but the healing process has slowed,” Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, said in a note, adding “there is still obvious damage in the economy.”

On Thursday, Wall Street’s major averages suffered their third straight day of losses, their longest losing streak in nearly a month, as investors fretted over the uncertain fate of a U.S. coronavirus stimulus bill.

“Market volatility is set to continue in the weeks ahead as investors brace for a host of uncertainties, including the timing of vaccine availability, the size and timing of additional U.S. fiscal stimulus, and the election outcome,” said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth Management.

The U.S. dollar was steady, with the euro closing around 1.1719. The British pound was changing hands at 1.2917 around the New York clos Friday. The Japanese yen was unchanged at 105.38. The Swiss franc was slightly stronger at 0.9146.

The Canadian dollar edged up to 1.3188. The Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar were little changed at 0.7080 and 0.6600 respectively.

On overseas equity markets, the FTSE 100 in London jumped 1.49 percent. The German Dax rose 1.62 percent. The CAC 40 added 2.03 percent.

On Asian Markets, in Tokyo, the benchmark Nikkei share average retreated 96.60 points or 0.41 percent to 23,410.63. The broader Topix lost 0.86 percent to 1,617.69.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index jumped 265.89 points or 1.10 percent to 24,424.45.

China’s Shanghai Composite added 4.18 points or 0.13 percent to 3,336.36.

The Australian All Ordinaries softened to lose 29.20 points or 0.46 percent to 6,385.00.

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