- Falling T-bond yields weigh on financials.
- Energy extends decline as WTI loses nearly 5% this week.
- Global growth concerns and the U.S.-China trade conflict hurt the market sentiment.
After starting the day deep in the negative territory, major equity indexes in the U.S. gained traction toward the end of the session and closed the day mixed.
Escalating fears over a global economic slowdown amid the downward revisions to the euro area and the UK 2019 growth forecasts and concerns over the U.S. extending the tariffs on Chinese imports weighed on the risk-sensitive stocks on Friday. “The two big headwinds we are looking at is weakening data out of the eurozone and some uncertainty around the trade dispute with China creeping back into the markets,” Shawn Cruz, manager of trader strategy at TD Ameritrade in Jersey City, NJ, told Reuters.
The flight-to-safety dragged the yields on the 10-year T-bonds lower today and forced the S&P 500 Financials Index to lose 0.55% on the day. Additionally, crude oil sell-off that caused the barrel of WTI to drop nearly 5% this week weighed on the S&P 500 Energy Index, which erased 0.72% to become the worst performing major S&P 500 sector of the day. On a positive note, the S&P 500 Technology and Communication Services both added around 0.5%.
When the closing bell rang on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.26%, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were up 0.07% and 0.14%, respectively. For the week, these three major indexes gained 0.05%, 0.17%, and 0.47%.
Share
