U.S. Equity Indexes Finish Mixed Ahead of Long U.S. Holiday Week-End

The major U.S. stock indexes finished mixed on Friday with the markets churning most of the session in reaction to ever changing news about the U.S.-Canada trade negotiations. Volume was also extremely low ahead of the start of the long U.S. holiday week-end.

In the cash market on Friday, the benchmark S&P 500 Index settled at 2901.52, up 0.39 or +0.01%. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 25964.32, down 22.10 or -0.09% and the tech-based NASDAQ Composite ended the session at 8109.66, up 21.30 or +0.26%.

August ended with the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average posting 2.1 percent and 3 percent gains, respectively. This marked their best performance for the month in 4 years. The NASDAQ Composite posted its best August since 2000, finishing the month up over 5.7 percent.

Individually, a 5.6 percent weekly gain in Amazon and a 5.3 percent weekly advance in Apple, helped carry the S&P 500 Index and the NASDAQ Composite to all-time highs earlier in the week.

The U.S. markets will be closed Monday, September 3 for the Labor Day holiday.

U.S. Treasury Markets

Flight-to-safety buying in reaction to concerns over U.S.-global trade disputes helped drive U.S. Treasury yields lower on Friday.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was lower at 2.844 percent while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond closed down at 2.994.

U.S. Economic Reports

Consumer sentiment in the United States rose slightly in August according to the University of Michigan’s monthly survey. Economists were looking for a slight decline.

The consumer survey rose to 96.2 in the final reading of August, better than the decline to 95.5 forecast by economists. Sentiment among consumers fell to 97.9 in July, from 98.2 in June, as a result of fears over the impact of tariffs on the domestic economy.

“Although there was a small uptick in late August, consumer sentiment remained at its lowest level since January,” Richard Curtin, chief economist for the University of Michigan’s survey, said in a statement. “These results stand in sharp contrast to the recent very favorable report on growth in the national economy.”

Curtin said consumers have “luckily” not yet interpreted the current inflation rate “as a significant source of erosion in their living standards or as a cause to reduce their buying plans.” Consumers view future income and job stability as the main reasons for their positive views on spending, Curtin added.

In other news, Chicago PMI fell to a reading of 63.6 in August from 65.5 in the prior month. Economists had expected a reading of 63.8.