US open: Stocks flat amid mixed data

By Sharecast News

Sharecast News | 05 Jun, 2017

20:47 22/03/17

10.68
-11.99%-1.46

Max: 10.68
Min: 10.40

Volume: 120
MM 200 : n/a

The main market averages are little changed following the release of mixed economic data.

At 1522, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is edging higher by 0.01% or 2.41 points to 21,209.13, with the Nasdaq Composite up by 0.03% or 1.92 points to 6,307.55 while the S&P is slipping 0.02% or 0.47 points to trade at 2,438.48.

The ISM services sector purchasing managers' index retreated from a reading of 57.5 for April to 56.9 in May (consensus: 57.0).

Sounding a positive note on the outlook for US stocks, strategists at Morgan Stanley wrote: "Favor the US and Japan over Europe and EM: We think that this view differs from the consensus. Japan offers deep value while the US offers quality and beatable estimates. Strong performance YTD has left less upside to our targets in Europe."

Labour productivity in the States was unchanged in the first quarter of 2017 in quarterly annualised terms, revised data from the Department of Labour revealed.

That was better than an initially estimated drop of 0.6%.

As a result, unit labour costs advanced by 2.2%, instead of the 3.0% gain initially thought (consensus: 2.5%).

Oil prices were in the red, reversing course after gaining earlier in the session on news that Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, citing concerns about its terrorist links. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.76% to $47.29 a barrel.

Acting as a backdrop, investors in the US were looking across the pond after a terror attack in London at the weekend left seven people dead and dozens injured. In addition, the UK general election on Thursday was also likely to be on investors' minds.

On Thursday, former FBI head James Comey, who was fired by Donald Trump last month, will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russia’s role in the US presidential election.

From a sector standpoint, the best performance was being seen in the following industrial groups: Medical supplies (1.79%), Biotechnology (1.67%) and Transportation services (1.17%).

Stock in Celsion rocketed after reporting promising findings for an early-stage trial for its ovarian cancer treatment.

TG Therapeutics was on the backfoot despite reporting positive results in a late stage clinical trial for its TG-1101 in combination with AbbVie and Johnson&Johnson's Imbruvica.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $72.42 0.92%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.14 0.81%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $214.81 0.70%
American Express Co. (AXP) $78.97 0.61%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $83.11 0.57%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $106.53 0.55%
Visa Inc. (V) $96.31 0.27%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $125.48 0.26%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $152.45 0.26%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $36.41 0.25%