The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained flat on Friday afternoon after the stock market experienced a correction earlier in the week. An early estimate of combined private sector manufacturing and service output for September showed a precarious reading of 50.1, indicating falling output. Manufacturing specifically fell to 48.9, while services remained slightly higher at 50.2.
Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note eased after hitting a 52-week high of 4.48% on Thursday. The note fell 5 basis points to 4.42% by 1:30 p.m. ET. Oil prices continued to rise, with a barrel trading at $89.96, a nearly 0.5% gain.
The S&P 500 managed to hold a slight gain of 0.1%, while the Nasdaq saw a lift of nearly 0.4% thanks to strong performances in software, chip, and China e-commerce stocks. Volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq was lighter compared to the same time on Thursday.
Among individual stocks, Apple rose as the sale of the new iPhone 15 handset began, but it still remained below its 50-day line. Caterpillar and United Health were holding their 50-day lines, while Chevron led the Dow. Cisco reversed its fall and rose after news of its purchase of Splunk.
In the tech sector, Atlassian, ZScaler, and Micron rebounded from their 50-day lines, while China stocks PDD and JD saw gains. Energy company Dorian LPG held onto most of its gains after breaking out of a cup with handle pattern.
Looking ahead, upcoming earnings reports include Costco, Progress Software, Paychex, Micron, Accenture, Jabil, Nike, and Carnival. These reports will provide insight into the performance and outlook of various sectors.
Overall, the stock market remained relatively steady amidst fluctuating indicators. Investors will continue to monitor these developments and earnings reports to make informed decisions.
Sources: Econoday, MarketSmith pattern recognition.
Definitions:
– Dow Jones Industrial Average: A stock market index that tracks the performance of 30 large, publicly traded companies.
– Private sector: The part of the economy that is not controlled by the government and includes businesses, organizations, and individuals.
– Manufacturing: The process of producing goods from raw materials, typically done on a large scale in factories.
– Services: Intangible economic activities that are performed by one party for the benefit of another, such as healthcare, education, and transportation.
– Yield: The income return on an investment, typically expressed as a percentage of the investment’s cost or current value.
– Benchmark: A standard or reference point against which other things can be measured or compared.
– Correction: A reverse movement, usually downward, in the price or value of a financial instrument or market after a period of increase.
– Stock market: A marketplace where buyers and sellers trade shares of publicly traded companies.
– Nasdaq: A global electronic marketplace for trading securities, especially stocks of small and medium-sized companies.
– Small-cap: Refers to stocks with a relatively small market capitalization, typically around $300 million to $2 billion.
– ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): A type of investment fund and exchange-traded product, with shares that are tradeable on a stock exchange.
– Base: A technical analysis term that refers to a period of consolidation or sideways movement in a stock’s price.
– Earnings: A company’s profits, typically measured on a quarterly or annual basis.
– Buy point: A price level at which an investor is encouraged to buy a stock based on technical analysis.
– Resistance: A price level at which a stock tends to encounter selling pressure and struggle to rise further.
– Cup with handle: A bullish chart pattern in technical analysis that resembles a cup and handle shape.
– DRAM (Dynamic Random-Access Memory): A type of computer memory that stores data and is commonly used in personal computers and mobile devices.
– NAND (Not AND) memory: A type of flash memory that is commonly used for data storage in devices such as cell phones and solid-state drives.
– Revenue: The income generated from the sale of goods or services by a company.
– Sales outlook: An estimation of a company’s anticipated sales performance over a given period of time.
– Business process outsourcing: The practice of contracting specific business processes to an external service provider.
– HR (Human Resources): The department or function within an organization that is responsible for managing employee-related tasks and policies.