On Friday, stocks were mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s advance halting at under the 20,000 line. The Dow industrials fell less than 0.1%, the S&P 500 rose 0.2%, the Nasdaq gained 0.5% and the Russell 2000 rose 0.81%.
Despite lower revenues, the major banks of the S&P’s banking sector rose 0.5%: Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), rose 0.4%, 0.5%, and 1.5% respectively. The technology sector gained .03%, but Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) lost 0.2%, however Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) jumped 1.4%. Qualcomm, Inc. (NASDAQ:
QCOM) gained 1.15%. The biotechnology stocks, as measured by the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (ETF) (NASDAQ:IBB) rose 0.4%.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell to 2.4% Friday, its fourth decline in as many weeks. And investors were big buyers of gold as the January delivery rose 2% to $1,195.30 per ounce. Crude oil (WTI) fell 3% at $52.37 per barrel.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5 points to 19,886, the S&P 500 rose 4 at 2,275, the Nasdaq gained 27 points, closing at 5,574, and the Russell 2000 closed at 1,372 for a gain of 11 points. The NYSE’s primary exchange traded 754 million shares with total volume of over 3 billion shares, and the Nasdaq crossed 1.6 billion shares. On the Big Board, advancers outpaced decliners by 1.7-to-1, and on the Nasdaq, advancers led by 2.3-to-1. Blocks on the NYSE fell slightly to 5,932 from 6,154 on Thursday.
Like the iShares Russell 2000 Index (ETF) (NYSEARCA:IWM), reviewed on Friday, the SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF (NYSEARCA:MDY) is maintaining support and its upside volume has been slightly higher than the IWM. Both MACDs are moving to the upside, but MDY support appears stronger with a support channel at $299-$302. Resistance is at $308-$309 with accumulation slightly higher. Thursday’s test of support led to a close above the 20-day moving average and a continuation on Friday to an intraday test of resistance which begins at $308.
Conclusion: The small caps are leading again, but the S&P 500’s test of its closing high at 2,277 and Friday’s advance, though on lower volume, should be watched for a breakout and thus a new confirmed signal to buy.
Today’s Trading Landscape
To see a list of the companies reporting earnings today, .
For a list of this week’s economic reports due out, .
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