Wall Street ended the week slightly lower on Friday amid conflicting economic signals as traders and investors awaited a looming policy meeting of the Federal Reserve in the coming week.
Stocks seesawed through the week to Friday in continued volatile trade as investors sought to read the latest economic tea leaves.
Multiple reports showed that the US economy was expanding, albeit at a lackluster second quarter pace of 1.9 percent, that home prices continued to fall, as did car sales, and that job losses continued to mount.
While the latter reports appeared bleak on the surface, economists said job cuts of 51,000 last month were not nearly as bad as feared.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip shares fell 0.39 percent in the week to Friday, to end at 11,326.32, while the broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost a more modest 0.20 percent to 1,260.31.
The technology-laden NASDAQ composite declined a scant 0.02 percent for the week to 2,310.96.
“The dog days of summer settled onto Wall Street,” said Al Goldman, a chief market strategist at Wachovia Securities, as trading wrapped up for the week.
“The major stock averages closed modestly lower on light volume. Readings on jobs, construction and manufacturing indicated tough times for the economy,” he said.
The Dow and other leading indexes have lost significant ground so far this year as a lingering housing slump, a credit crunch and soaring oil prices have weighed down the markets.
As Wall Street closed for business on Friday, traders said they were turning their attention to next week’s central bank meeting.
The Fed is widely expected to keep its key interest rate firmly pegged at 2 percent at a meeting set for Tuesday.
“The Fed will do nothing next week. Fed will keep fed funds at 2 percent, voice its concern about the longer term inflation threats from commodity prices,” said John Lonski, the chief economist at Moody’s Investor Service.
Investors said they will also be keeping a close eye on crude oil prices which rocketed to record highs over US$147 a barrel last month.
Traders said Wall Street sentiment was suppressed on Friday as big US automakers reported gloomy sales and as auto giant General Motors announced a US$15.5 billion quarterly loss.
GM’s loss was much bigger than expected and underlined its lingering troubles as it battles tumbling demand for its trucks and gasoline-guzzling sport utility vehicles.
Financial stocks are also likely to remain on the radar in the coming week as major banks seek to continue trimming their balance sheets of ailing investments.
Bond prices rose on the week as investors sought a safe haven from stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond declined to 3.948 percent from 4.111 percent a week earlier and that on the 30-year bond dropped to 4.569 percent from 4.696 percent.
Aside from the Fed meeting, market participants said the economic news flow will slow a little in the coming week with reports due on personal income and spending, factory orders, consumer credit and jobless claims.
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