US close: Stocks mixed on quiet day of Thanksgiving trading
US stocks closed on a mixed note on Friday during a half-day of trading for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Dow fell 0.08% while the Nasdaq rose 0.23% and the S&P 500 increased 0.23%.
Earlier in the session equities were all lower following the sell-off in China as authorities in the nation investigated brokerages Citic Securities Co. and Guosen Securities over suspected violations. The Shanghai index closed down 5.49%, the largest daily percentage loss since 18 August.
However, the market turned around slightly as gains in telecoms, utilities and consumer staples offset a slump in energy stocks.
Meanwhile, with no notable economic data releases out in the US, Black Friday sales were in focus. Spending in the US rose 22% more than they did last year online, according to Adobe Digital Index. However, analysts at SunTrust called Thanksgiving Day shopping in stores “a bust”, The Wall Street Journal reported.
IG analyst Alastair McCagi said retailers have swamped newspapers and social media with advertising.
"Traders will be waiting to see who is first to report ‘record sales’ from today’s shopping bonanza,” he said. “As ever the devil will be in the detail, and seasoned traders are only too aware that record sales do not automatically translate into record profits."
Target Corp. said Apple iPads were the biggest sellers in stores and online while Wal-Mart said more than 25 million people visited its website and mobile-phone app ahead of Black Friday sales.
Target’s shares rose 0.44% but Apple and Wal-Mart were down 0.14% and 0.45%, respectively.
Among other companies, Walt Disney slipped after the media giant said its ESPN sports network lost 3m subscribers over the last 12 months.
KaloBios Pharmaceuticals surged after Martin Shkreli, the group’s newly appointed CEO, revealed he has decided to stop lending out shares in the company.
Meanwhile, oil prices were under the cosh with West Texas Intermediate crude down 1.4% to $41.90 per barrel and Brent down 1.02% to $45 per barrel at 1752 GMT.
The dollar continued to strengthen against major currencies. At 1611 GMT, the greenback was up against the yen by 0.16% changing hands at JPY122.77. Concurrently, the pound fell 0.31% against the dollar exchanging at $1.5055, while the euro fell 0.13% to change hands at $1.0596, inching ever closer to parity against the US currency.
Looking to the week ahead, the pace is set to pick up with the release of non-farm payrolls among other important data releases.
S&P 500 - Risers
Kroger Co. (KR) $38.07 +2.42%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $81.95 +2.04%
Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) $42.14 +1.94%
Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $107.16 +1.93%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $74.94 +1.89%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $4.99 +1.84%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $62.06 +1.74%
Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $106.76 +1.60%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $41.88 +1.38%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $130.15 +1.37%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $8.74 -7.22%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $28.39 -6.24%
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CNX) $7.57 -5.44%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $11.63 -4.52%
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $50.74 -3.83%
Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO) $22.34 -3.79%
Ensco Plc. (ESV) $16.71 -3.74%
Murphy Oil Corp. (MUR) $28.32 -3.61%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $17.47 -3.53%
Hess Corp. (HES) $58.94 -3.19%
Dow Jones I.A - Risers
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $45.33 +0.92%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $190.87 +0.91%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $27.41 +0.61%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $54.01 +0.54%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $53.97 +0.53%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $138.70 +0.51%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $102.45 +0.48%
Visa Inc. (V) $79.91 +0.44%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $67.14 +0.42%
3M Co. (MMM) $158.18 +0.35%
Dow Jones I.A - Fallers
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $115.31 -2.83%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $90.38 -0.54%
United Technologies Corp. (UTX) $96.88 -0.40%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $43.20 -0.37%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $60.02 -0.37%
Boeing Co. (BA) $146.99 -0.30%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $71.29 -0.29%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $75.69 -0.28%
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (DD) $67.11 -0.22%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $114.19 -0.18%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Nxp Semiconductors Nv (NXPI) $88.53 +4.79%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $185.45 +2.77%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $81.95 +2.04%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $204.82 +1.50%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $41.88 +1.38%
Avago Technologies Ltd. (AVGO) $130.15 +1.37%
Liberty Interactive Corporation QVC Group (QVCA) $26.86 +1.36%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $44.50 +1.30%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $84.37 +1.16%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $86.84 +1.14%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Keurig Green Mountain Inc (GMCR) $50.74 -3.83%
Vimpelcom Ltd Ads (VIP) $3.51 -2.50%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $60.92 -2.14%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $51.31 -1.99%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $19.55 -1.59%
Whole Foods Market Inc. (WFM) $29.38 -1.54%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $24.50 -1.27%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $120.90 -1.23%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $37.54 -1.05%
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc Class A (FOXA) $29.62 -0.94%