Stocks Close Mostly Lower Following Another Lackluster Session - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Friday before ending the session mostly lower. A mixed batch of earnings and economic news contributed to a lackluster performance by the markets for much of the session.

Reflecting the weakness on Wall Street, the Nasdaq slid 21.11 points or 0.5 percent to 4,197.58 and the S&P 500 fell 7.19 points or 0.4 percent to 1,838.70. At the same time, the 30 component Dow rose 41.55 points or 0.3 percent to 16,458.56.

The major averages closed mixed for the second consecutive session and also turned in a mixed performance for the week. While the S&P 500 edged down 0.2 percent, the Dow inched up 0.1 percent and the Nasdaq climbed 0.5 percent.

Intel (INTC) weighed on both the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500 on Friday, with the semiconductor giant falling by 2.6 percent on the day.

The loss by Intel came after the company reported fourth quarter earnings that rose year-over-year but came in just below analyst estimates. The company also provided disappointing revenue guidance.

On the other hand, the Dow benefited from standout gains by American Express (AXP) and Visa (V), which jumped 3.6 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively.

The credit card giants benefited from a positive reaction to earnings news from American Express, which reported fourth quarter net income that more than doubled compared to the year-ago quarter.

In other earnings news, General Electric (GE) reported fourth quarter earnings that matched analyst estimates, while Morgan Stanley's (MS) results came in above expectations.

Traders were also reacting to a mixed batch of U.S. economic data, including reports showing a pullback in housing starts and an increase in industrial production that both came roughly in line with economist estimates.

The Commerce Department said housing starts fell 9.8 percent to an annual rate of 999,000 in December after jumping 23.1 percent to the revised November estimate of 1.107 million.

Economists had expected housing starts to drop to an annual rate of 985,000 from the 1.091 million originally reported for the previous month, reflecting a 9.7 percent decrease.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve said industrial production increased by 0.3 percent in December after jumping by a revised 1.0 percent in November.

The December increase matched economist estimates, while the previous month's growth was downwardly revised from 1.1 percent.

Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan released a separate report showing an unexpected drop in consumer sentiment in the month of January.

Sector News

While most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, considerable weakness was visible among housing stocks. Reflecting the weakness in the housing sector, the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index fell by 1.5 percent.

Standard Pacific (SPF) and Lennar (LEN) turned in two of the housing sector's worst performances amid news of the pullback in housing stocks.

Trucking and natural gas stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside. The NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index surged up by 3.5 percent to its best closing level in almost two months.

The strength among gold stocks came amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, with gold for February delivery climbing $11.70 to $1,251.90 an ounce.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.9 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved modestly higher on the day. While the German DAX Index rose by 0.3 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index both ended the day up by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries closed modestly higher after showing a lack of direction in early trading. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, dipped 1.6 basis points to 2.827 percent.

Looking Ahead

Following the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Monday, next week's trading is likely to be driven by earnings news amid a particularly light economic calendar.

Microsoft (MSFT), Delta (DAL), Verizon (VZ), eBay (EBAY), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Travelers (TRV), and McDonald's (MCD) are among the big-name companies scheduled to release their quarterly results next week.