S&P 500 ends Friday flat, posts its first back-to-back weekly losses since February
The S&P 500 erased earlier gains and finished Friday near the flatline as the tech sector came under pressure again amid another drop in bitcoin price.
The broad equity benchmark dipped less than 0.1% to 4,155.86 after rising as much as 0.7% earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 123.69 points, or 0.4%, to 34,207.84, thanks to a jump in Boeing shares. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.5% to 13,470.99.
For the week, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to register its first back-to-back weekly losses since February. The blue-chip Dow dipped 0.5% on the week, while the Nasdaq Composite eked out a 0.3% gain this week, breaking a four-week losing streak.
Bitcoin, which shook markets earlier in the week with a 30% collapse, dropped again on Friday after Chinese Vice Premier Liu He warned about bitcoin mining and trading behavior, saying tighter regulation is needed to protect the financial system. The price last traded 10% lower to around $36,000. Crypto-linked shares including Coinbase and MicroStrategy turned red on the headline and ended the day 3.9% and 4.7% lower, respectively. Tesla fell 1%.
Boeing popped 3.2% after Reuters reported the aircraft manufacturer discussed increasing 737 MAX output to as many as 42 jets per month by late 2022.
Helping sentiment Friday was a gauge for U.S. manufacturing activity that surged to a record high this month. The IHS Markit Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index jumped to an all-time high of 61.5 in May from 60.5 in April. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected the index to hold steady.
European markets close higher as PMI data hits three-year high; Richemont shares jump 5%
European markets closed higher on Friday with attention turning to key economic data from the euro zone and the U.K.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 had risen 0.6% by the close, with autos adding 1% to lead gains as nearly all sectors and major bourses finished in positive territory.
U.K. economic activity posted its strongest growth on record in May, according to flash PMI (purchasing managers’ index) readings published Friday. The IHS Markit composite PMI hit 62.0, its highest since the survey was launched in 1998 and up from 60.7 the previous month, as British services firms reopened following a prolonged lockdown period and manufacturers benefited from the global demand recovery.
In the euro zone, business growth hit its fastest pace for more than three years as the vaccine rollout gathered pace and more businesses in the bloc’s dominant services sector reopened. The initial flash composite PMI came in at 56.9 compared to April’s 53.8.
U.K. retail sales also jumped 9.2% in April, double the average projection in a Reuters poll of economists, official data showed Friday, indicating that pent-up consumer demand is beginning to kick in.
Reference: CNBC
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