US markets end Friday’s choppy trading session mostly in red

15 Feb 2025 Evaluate

The US markets ended Friday’s choppy trading session mostly in red as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following Thursday's rally. Traders also digested a mixed batch of U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department report showing retail sales slumped by much more than expected in January. The report said retail sales slid by 0.9 percent in January after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.7 percent in December. Street had expected retail sales to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month. However, market participants noted the sharp decline was largely due to extreme wintery conditions and the California wildfires.

Separately, a report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial production rose by more than expected in January, although the increase was largely due to a weather-related surge by utilities output. The Fed said industrial production climbed by 0.5 percent in January after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.0 percent in December. Street had expected industrial production to rise by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.9 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.

On the sectoral front, most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, computer hardware stocks extended Thursday's rally, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 2.9 percent to a record closing high. Significant strength was also visible among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.3 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Airline Index. On the other hand, gold stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 4.2 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. Pharmaceutical stocks also showed a notable move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index down by 1.7 percent.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 165.35 points or 0.37 percent to 44,546.08 and S&P 500 was down by 0.44 points or 0.01 percent to 6,114.63, while Nasdaq rose 81.13 points or 0.41 percent to 20,026.77. 


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