US open: Stocks edge higher at the end of the week

Gains for steel and biotech shares saw Wall Street edge higher amid better than expected economic data and some dovish Fedspeak.

At 1723 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by 0.09% or 18.68 points to 21,414.45, with the Nasdaq Composite adding 0.38% or 23.69 points to 6,260.31 and the S&P 500 rising 0.22% or 5.33 points to 2,439.81.

Oil prices were also trading on the front-foot as the diplomatic spat between several Arab countries and Qatar continued to worsen. Against that backdrop, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were gaining 0.70% to $43.04 a barrel.

From a sector standpoint the biggest gains were being seen in the following industrial groups: Aluminium (2.87%), Nonferrous Metals (2.14%) and Iron & Steel (2.12%).

New single-family home sales in the US grew by 2.9% month-on-month in May to reach an annualised rate of 610,000, according to the Department of Commerce. In comparison to the same month one year ago, sales were 8.9% ahead. Economists had forecast an increase of 600,000.

IHS Markit's composite manufacturing and service sector purchasing managers index slipped from 53.6 in May to 53.0 for June - a three-month low - as expected.

Worth noting, the survey compiler said average prices charged by private sector firms saw one of the biggest increases in two years.

Still ahaead on the economic calendar for Friday, Baker Hughes was set to release the results of its weekly oil rig count at 1800 BST.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, argued that while oil prices were clawing back some of the losses from earlier in the week, there was little reason to believe this was anything more than a dead cat bounce and that next week may be another painful one.

In corporate news, shares in Bed, Bath & Beyond dropped to a seven-year low after posting much weaker than expected earnings per share for its first fiscal quarter.

Dow Jones - Risers

Visa Inc. (V) $95.45 1.60%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $32.19 1.07%
Boeing Co. (BA) $201.48 1.02%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $146.80 0.80%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $89.69 0.74%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $105.13 0.65%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $70.67 0.58%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $45.29 0.49%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $81.45 0.46%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $52.62 0.42%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $152.74 -1.76%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $185.00 -0.80%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $75.01 -0.68%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $218.59 -0.54%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $127.80 -0.40%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $135.70 -0.25%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.29 -0.20%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.35 -0.14%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $154.26 -0.09%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $104.17 -0.05%

S&P 500 - Risers

EQT Corp. (EQT) $54.83 5.38%
United States Steel Corp. (X) $22.10 4.89%
First Solar Inc. (FSLR) $40.18 4.58%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $94.30 4.49%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $22.12 3.22%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $1.15 3.13%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $36.81 3.01%
Teradata Corp. (TDC) $30.07 2.98%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $51.43 2.83%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $22.95 2.82%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $30.08 -10.85%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $49.56 -6.10%
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $187.64 -3.85%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $506.29 -3.84%
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) $34.31 -1.92%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $43.79 -1.83%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $133.11 -1.79%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $152.74 -1.76%
Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) $76.99 -1.73%
Zoetis Inc (ZTS) $62.50 -1.59%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $94.30 4.49%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $42.66 3.22%
Akamai Technologies Inc. (AKAM) $51.43 2.83%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $52.19 2.64%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $43.07 2.52%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $44.20 1.99%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $28.53 1.78%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $35.70 1.65%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $152.18 1.43%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $29.43 1.38%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $506.29 -3.84%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $326.93 -2.15%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $133.11 -1.79%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $172.33 -1.48%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $156.10 -1.43%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $95.77 -1.33%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $157.72 -1.30%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $171.68 -1.23%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $39.49 -1.13%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $66.97 -1.05%