Market Roundup: Week of Mixed Moves Ends Down

Economy/Stock Market

Indices closed trading with mixed moves on Monday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ended fractionally in the red while the NASDAQ posted slight gains. Energy brands led the S&P lower while West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 3.52% to settle at $46.81 a barrel. Stocks gained on a lift in crude oil and other news to close in green territory on Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $48.01 a barrel, while the Commerce Department data showed 654,000 new homes sold in July versus forecasts of 581,000. The stock retreat returned on Wednesday. Energy Information Administration data showed a gain of 2.5 million barrels in reserves over the past week, versus expectations of a lesser uptick of 200,000 barrels, resulting in oil trading lower. The dip continued through Thursday as investors’ attention was on the Federal Reserve’s annual Jackson Hole meeting. Friday’s session ended mixed. Both the Dow and S&P shaved some points while the NASDAQ closed in green territory. Moves were mixed in the wake of Federal Reserve comments. In a speech at the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said, “The U.S. economy has strengthened to the point where another rate hike will soon be warranted.” According to the second estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, real Gross Domestic Product ticked up 1.1% in the second quarter, just shy of the 1.2% advance estimate. On another note, consumer confidence slipped slightly in August. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey shed 0.2 point to 89.8 from 90 in July. Results fell short of an expected reading of 91.