US markets end in red on Friday

20 Jul 2019 Evaluate

The US markets failed to maintain early gains and ended in red on Friday following a report that Federal Reserve officials would cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point rate cut at the end of the month, rather than a half-point move, and after Iran said it seized a British-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. The initial strength in Wall Street partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news from Microsoft (MSFT), as the software giant reported fiscal fourth quarter results that exceeded street estimates on both the top and bottom lines. However, some cautiousness prevailed in the markets after The Wall Street Journal (paywall) reported that Fed officials, based on recent public statements and interviews, signaled they were ready to cut rates by a quarter-percentage point at their July 30-31 meeting, but weren’t prepared to make a half-point reduction. Besides, Iran said it seized oil vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, heightening tensions in the region a day after President Donald Trump said a U.S. Naval ship shot down an Iranian drone.

On the economic front, the University of Michigan released a report showing a slight improvement in US consumer sentiment in the month of July. The preliminary report showed the consumer sentiment index inched up to 98.4 in July from the final June reading of 98.2. Street had expected the index to edge up to 98.5. Surveys of Consumers chief economist Richard Curtin said consumer sentiment remained largely unchanged in early July from June, remaining at quite favorable levels since the start of 2017. Meanwhile, traders are looking ahead to the on reports on new and existing home sales, durable goods orders and second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the next week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 68.77 points or 0.25 percent to 27154.20, Nasdaq declined 60.75 points or 0.74 percent to 8146.49 and S&P 500 was down by 18.50 points or 0.62 percent to 2976.61.

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