NEW YORK: U.S. stocks traded lower for the week as investors digested a batch of economic data and Federal Reserve officials’ remarks from the country. For the week, the blue-chip Dow edged down 0.2 percent, and the broader S&P 500 lost 0.6 percent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 2.0 percent. New orders for manufactured durable goods in May decreased 2.5 billion U.S. dollars or 1.1 percent to 228.2 billion dollars, according to U.S. Census Bureau on Monday, missing market expectations.
U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the first quarter, according to the “third” estimate released by the the Commerce Department. Consumer spending was revised to show a 1.1 percent increase from a prior 0.6 percent reading, said the department. In the week ending June 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 244,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Personal income increased 67.1 billion U.S. dollars, or 0.4 percent in May, according to estimates released Friday by the U.S. Commerce Department, higher than market expectations. The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, declined 0.1 percent for May following a 0.2 percent gain the previous month. The year-on-year rate declined to 1.4 percent from 1.7 percent, lower than the expected rate of 1.5 percent. Moreover, U.S. consumer sentiment fell to 95.1 in June, hitting the lowest level since November 2016, according to a survey released by the University of Michigan on Friday. Investors also kept an eye on the closely-watched Federal Reserve officials’ remarks throughout the week.
San Francisco Fed President John Williams said on Monday the Fed needs to raise rates gradually or the economy runs the risk of overheating, according to media reports. New York Fed chief William Dudley said recent narrowing of credit spreads, record stock prices and falling bond yields could encourage the Fed to continue tightening U.S. policy. U.S. Fed chair Janet Yellen said Tuesday that another financial crisis the likes of the one that exploded in 2008 was not likely “in our lifetime,” said media reports. She added that banks are very much stronger judging by how major institutions did in the recent stress tests.
Tech has been one of the best performing sectors so far this year, rising more than 15 percent already. But over the past month it has dropped quite a lot as some investors believe large-cap tech stocks are currently overvalued. For the week, shares of Facebook and Amazon dropped more than 3 percent while Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet both lost over 5 percent.
