US close: Banks lower, Valeant plunges
Wall Street ended the session lower weighed down by bank stocks and as traders took some money 'off the table' ahead of next week´s monthly non-farm payrolls report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.52% to end the session at 17,663.54, alongside a 0.48% decline in the S&P 500 to 2,079.36, while the Nasdaq edged lower to 0.40% to reach 5,053.78.
Nevertheless, USshares ended the month with their largest gain since 2011, alongside a record 39% drop in the Chicago Board of Trade´s volatility index, known to market watchers as Wall Street´s 'fear gauge'.
However, on Friday the VIX was to be seen higher, advancing 3.15% to hit 15.07 points.
By industry groups, the largest losses were seen in: Personal products (-2.67%), Drug retailers (-2.42%) and Specialty finance (-2.41%).
The KBW Bank index ended the day 1.89% lower at 72.58 points,
Mixed economic data
According to figures released by the Commerce Department, personal spending rose 0.1% month-on-month in September compared with a 0.4% increase in August and with analysts’ expectations for a 0.2% gain.
Spending on durable goods and services rose 0.6% and 0.3% respectively, while purchases of non-durable goods such as gas declined 0.3%.
“With the labour market approaching full employment, we still anticipate that rising wage growth and underlying inflation will be the big surprise next year, eventually forcing the Fed to hike interest rate more aggressively,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.
“But that clearly hasn’t happened yet, which is why the first rate hike is probably going to be delayed until early next year.”
Elsewhere, the University of Michigan´s index monitoring consumer sentiment slipped to 90.0 from 92.1 in September, falling short of the 92.5 reading analysts had expected.
Meanwhile, the Chicago PMI, surged back into positive territory in October, rising to a level of 56.2 from 48.7 in September, the highest level since January 2015.
Banks lower, Valeant plunges
The largest US lenders could face a total shortfall of $120bn in long-term debt under a proposal from the central bank aimed at guaranteeing they do not pose a systemic threat to the wider economy.
Genworth Financial dropped 10% after the insurer´s boss said there were limited options in the short-term for simplifying the company.
To take note of, Valeant Pharmaceuticals plunged 16% after saying it will part ways with mail-order pharmacy unit Philidor Rx Services.
Going the other way, LinkedIn surged 11% after positing better-than-expected results late on Thursday and lifting its full-year forecast, while Starbucks rose 1.10% reporting a surge in profit driven by growth at its US stores.
Oil giant Exxon rose 0.62% after reporting that third quarter profit and sales fell less than expected, while sector peer Chevron gained 1.10% after the company beat profit and sales expectations.
Probability of December Fed hike increases
Most Asian equity markets ended the week on a downbeat note, after the Bank of Japan refrained from implementing fresh stimulus measures, while European stocks edged lower on profit taking.
By the end of trading, Fed funds futures were pricing in a 50% chance of a rate hike by the Fed at its December meeting, up from a low of about 30% the week before.
Oil prices moved higher, with West Texas Intermediate gaining 0.72% to $46.39 a barrel.
S&P 500 - Risers
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $57.07 +11.92%
AbbVie Inc (ABBV) $59.55 +10.07%
Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $136.30 +7.27%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $16.63 +4.79%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $18.38 +4.73%
Rowan Companies plc (RDC) $19.68 +4.13%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $11.68 +3.82%
Transocean Ltd. (RIG) $15.83 +3.67%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $83.78 +3.52%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $77.24 +3.50%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Genworth Financial Inc. (GNW) $4.68 -10.34%
Keycorp (KEY) $12.42 -7.17%
Moody's Corp. (MCO) $96.16 -5.29%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $72.07 -5.25%
Perrigo Company plc (PRGO) $157.74 -4.87%
CVS Health Corp (CVS) $98.78 -4.84%
Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) $66.35 -4.16%
McKesson Corp. (MCK) $178.80 -4.00%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $44.09 -3.69%
Intercontinental Exchange Inc (ICE) $252.40 -3.61%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $72.99 +1.42%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $90.88 +1.10%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $46.88 +1.03%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $82.74 +0.62%
Boeing Co. (BA) $148.07 +0.60%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $63.40 +0.09%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $123.64 +0.01%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $33.82 -2.73%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $117.78 -1.61%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $64.25 -1.47%
General Electric Co. (GE) $28.92 -1.43%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $52.64 -1.35%
American Express Co. (AXP) $73.26 -1.29%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $187.50 -1.26%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $57.24 -1.24%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $112.89 -1.22%
Visa Inc. (V) $77.58 -1.18%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $187.47 +10.94%
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $78.35 +7.33%
Liberty Interactive Corporation - Series A Liberty Ventures (LVNTA) $43.57 +3.76%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $83.78 +3.52%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $77.24 +3.50%
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $59.63 +3.38%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $108.38 +3.10%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $117.04 +2.85%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $123.13 +2.53%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $28.37 +2.49%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $72.07 -5.25%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $44.09 -3.69%
Facebook Inc. (FB) $101.97 -2.77%
Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA) $206.93 -2.22%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.78 -2.07%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $50.75 -1.88%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $122.71 -1.78%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $143.28 -1.67%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $86.99 -1.55%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $66.29 -1.53%