Stocks Close Mostly Lower Ahead Of Brexit Vote - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - While trading activity was somewhat subdued, stocks moved mostly lower during the trading session on Friday. The major averages all ended the day in negative territory after snapping a five-session losing streak on Thursday.

The Dow slipped 57.94 points or 0.3 percent to 17,675.16, the Nasdaq fell 44.58 points or 0.9 percent to 4,800.34, and the S&P 500 slid 6.77 points or 0.3 percent to 2,071.22.

The weakness on Wall Street came amid ongoing concerns about the referendum on whether Britain will remain in the European Union.

Recent polls have shown that most British voters prefer to leave the EU, which is commonly referred to as the Brexit.

Most economists have predicted that Brexit will be negative for the global economy, leading global central banks to inaction at recent meetings.

On the U.S. economic front, the Commerce Department released a report this morning showing a modest drop in new residential construction in the month of May.

The report said housing starts edged down by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.164 million in May from the revised April estimate of 1.167 million.

Economists had expected housing starts to dip to a rate of 1.150 million from the 1.172 million originally reported for the previous month.

Biotechnology stocks have shown a notable move to the downside during trading on Friday, dragging the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index down by 2 percent. With the drop on the day, the biotech index dropped to its lowest closing level in a month.

Most of the other major sectors showed only moves modest moves, although strength was visible among energy and railroad stocks.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index surged up by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index advanced by 1 percent and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.9 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after moving sharply higher in recent sessions. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.4 basis points at 1.608 percent.

While the U.S. economic calendar will be relatively quiet next week, traders are likely to focus on the outcome of the Brexit vote on Thursday.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony before Congress is also likely to attract some attention along with reports on new home sales and durable goods orders.