Closing Market Summary: Slim Gains on FridayFriday was another quiet day on Wall Street as the major U.S. indices hovered near their flat lines from start to finish. The S&P 500 (+0.1%) finished just a tick above its unchanged mark, as did the Nasdaq (+0.1%), thanks to a late-afternoon rally that left the benchmark index at its best level of the day. Meanwhile, the Dow (unch) settled with a slim loss and the Russell 2000 (+0.5%) outperformed, settling at a new all-time high.
The telecom services sector (+1.4%) rallied on Friday following a Reuters report that Sprint (S 8.52, +0.49) and T-Mobile US (TMUS 64.06, +0.67) are nearing a merger deal following months of on-again, off-again talks. The two wireless names jumped 6.1% and 1.1%, respectively, in reaction to the report.
Apple (AAPL 151.89, -1.50) tumbled for the third day in a row, losing 1.0%, amid reports of shorter-than-expected lines for Friday's iPhone 8 launch. However, the top-weighted technology sector (+0.1%) held up relatively well, thanks in part to chipmakers, which pushed the PHLX Semiconductor Index higher by 0.5%.
On the earnings front, Finish Line (FINL 9.73, +0.51) jumped 5.5% after its better-than-expected earnings overshadowed its worse-than-expected revenues. Similarly, CarMax (KMX 74.19, +5.35) climbed 7.8%, hitting its best mark since April 2015, after beating both top and bottom line estimates.
The health care sector (+0.1%) traded behind the broader market for the majority of Friday's session, but moved sharply higher after Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said he cannot support the Graham-Cassidy bill, which is the GOP's latest attempt at replacing the Affordable Care Act.
Mr. McCain's decision puts the bill on the ropes as Republicans can only afford to lose two votes in the Senate and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has already voiced his opposition. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) said she is leaning towards voting against the bill as well.
Elsewhere on the political front, North Korea threatened to test a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean and released a statement from its Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, in which he criticizes President Trump's Tuesday speech at the United Nations.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasuries settled Friday's session mixed; the 2-yr yield climbed one basis point to 1.44% while the 10-yr yield dropped two basis points to 2.26%.
Also of note, major oil producers wrapped up a Friday meeting in Vienna without reaching an agreement on whether they should extend, and/or deepen, the current production-cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC nations. Crude oil held steady following the meeting's conclusion, settling higher by 0.2% at $50.66/bbl.
Investors did not receive any economic data on Friday, nor will they receive any economic data on Monday.
- Nasdaq Composite +19.4% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +13.1% YTD
- S&P 500 +11.8% YTD
- Russell 2000 +6.9% YTD