Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Friday (6/28) as investors digested new US inflation data and weighed political uncertainty after the Biden-Trump presidential debate in November. Nike posted its biggest one-day decline in more than two decades after a dismal earnings forecast.
In today’s session, the S&P 500 is down 0.41% at 5,460.48 and the Nasdaq is down 0.71% at 17,732.60. Both indexes hit new all-time highs earlier, but then retreated. THE Dow Jones lost 45.20 points or 0.12% and closed at 39,118.86 points. Nike fell nearly 20% after cutting full-year guidance, dragging Foot Locker down 2%.
The Nasdaq technology index led the first half, rising 18.1% as artificial intelligence excited investors. The S&P 500 “jumped” 14.5%, while the Dow Jones settled for gains of around 3.8%.
The Dow Jones underperformed in part because of the unusual decline in the second quarter. The industrial index fell 1.7% during the period, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 3.9% and 8.3%, respectively, during the same period.
All three indexes gained ground in June, marking their seventh positive month in the last eight. The Nasdaq led a nearly 6% monthly rally. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones gained 3.5% and 1.1%, respectively. For the week, the Nasdaq added 0.2%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones fell less than 0.1%.
It was noted that inflation slowed in May to the lowest annual rate in more than three years. Core PCE, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, rose just 0.1% last month and 2.6% from last year. Both prices were in line with Dow Jones consensus estimates.
Elsewhere, the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for June was higher than expected, rising to 68.2 from a preliminary reading of 65.6. The outlook for one-year inflation fell to 3% from 3.3% expected in May.
Oil prices posted gains for the third week in a row, amid worries about production from greater geopolitical uncertainty, particularly in the Middle East. There was a pullback in prices on Friday, due to weak gasoline demand recorded in the US this week.
Brent for August delivery – the contract expired on Friday – gained 2 cents to $86.41 a barrel. The most active contract for September fell 0.3% to $85 a barrel. At the same time, US WTI crude oil lost 20 cents or 0.24% to $81.54 per barrel.
For the week, Brent added 0.02% while WTI lost 0.2%. On a month-to-month basis, both rose by nearly 6%. Year-to-date WTI has gained over 13% while Brent has gained over 12%.
Gold recorded a marginal rise today, achieving satisfactory gains in June and closing in positive territory for the third consecutive quarter. Spot gold was almost unchanged at $2,326.47 an ounce, marking a 4% quarter-on-quarter gain, while US futures ended up 0.1% at $2,339.6 an ounce.