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The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite Index closed lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw muted gains on Friday, May 21, as investors moved away from risker assets.
The S&P 500 was down 0.08% to 4,155.86. Dow Jones rose 0.36% to 34,207.84. NASDAQ declined 0.48% to 13,470.99 and the small-cap Russell 2000 gained 0.34% to 2,215.27.
Markets have been volatile in recent days amid fears of inflation and labor shortage despite a significant improvement on the economic front as the impact of the pandemic started to wane.
Businesses have reported supply constraints to keep up with the demand. Additionally, an ongoing labor shortage has threatened stalling production in some sectors, mainly the hospitality industry.
Friday’s lacklustre performance had been a familiar feature on the indices this week. Technology and blue-chip stocks saw muted performance. Analysts say inflation worries may have played spoilsport for the unenthusiastic response in the markets.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration said that it has trimmed down its infrastructure bill to US$1.7 trillion to accommodate the Republican lawmakers’ views. The original bill was US$2.25 trillion. A major portion of the money to be spent on building roads and bridges and broadband infrastructure.
The US real estate market had seen rapid growth during the pandemic as mortgage rates fell. But the rapid increase in lumber prices of late has dampened the spirit of many new homebuyers. According to industry estimates, new home sales have dropped in recent months.
In stocks, big retailers like Walmart, Macy’s, and Home Depot saw subdued gains. Nvidia Corp rose around 2.95%, while Alibaba (BABA) declined 3.14%, and apparel company VF Corp lost 7.3%.
The stock of farm equipment maker Deere and Co rose 2.9% after providing their full-year profit forecast. Automotive manufacturer Volkswagen AG was marginally up 0.95%.
In the cryptocurrency world, Bitcoin plunged more than 11% after China stepped up regulatory pressure on the financial institutions, asking them to refrain from the digital currencies.
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Top Gainers
Top performers on S&P 500 included Ford Motor Co (6.73%), Lamb Weston Holdings Inc (3.46%), Boeing Co (3.15%) and Centene Corp (2.69%). Obalon Therapeutics Inc (30.04%), Resonant Inc (23.45%), Gracell Biotechnologies Inc (20.70%) and Lightbridge Corp (18.75%) were top performers on NASDAQ. On Dow Jones, Boeing Co (3.15%), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (1.80%), JPMorgan Chase & Co (1.14%) and Caterpillar Inc (0.96%) gained the most.
Top Losers
Top laggards on S&P 500 were VF Corp (8.94%), Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (3.00%), Progressive Corp (2.84%) and ETSY Inc (2.78%). Big Rock Partners Acquisition Corp (23.73%), MoSys Inc (18.65%), Onconova Therapeutics Inc (15.71%) and Rapt Therapeutics Inc (15.25%) were among the top losers on NASDAQ. On Dow Jones, Apple Inc (1.48%), Cisco Systems Inc (0.79%), Merck & Co Inc (0.60%) and Salesforce.Com Inc (0.54%) were the laggards.
Volume Movers
Top volume movers are Apple Inc (17.88M), Ford Motor Co (33.52M), Apple Inc (17.88M), AT&T Inc (15.90M), Farmmi Inc (11.62M), Sundial Growers Inc (10.78M), General Electric Co (10.36M) and Bank of America Corp (10.26M).
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Futures & Commodities
Gold futures remained the same at US$1,881.85 per ounce. Silver decreased 1.49% to US$27.650 per ounce, while copper was down 1.29% to US$4.5092.
Brent oil futures increased by 2.41% to US$66.68 per barrel and WTI crude gains 3.12% to US$63.87.
Bond Market
The 30-year Treasury bond yields were down 1.00% to 2.318 while the 10-year bond yields decreased 0.65% to 1.623.
US Dollar Futures Index was up 0.25% to US$90.015.
