- Dow Jones trims recent gains as US equities churn.
- DJIA eases back after failing to capture 39,900.00
- Markets hit a wide range heading into the Friday close.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) faced downward pressure, declining by approximately three-quarters of a percent, while US equities exhibited mixed movements on Friday. US markets showed varied performance to conclude the trading week, with the DJIA experiencing downward testing, the NASDAQ Composite edging up by around one-sixth of a percent, and the S&P 500 stumbling by a similar fraction.
On Friday, most major sectors of the US equity market recorded losses, with the Real Estate sector dropping by approximately 1.25%, closely followed by a 1.21% decline in the Financial Sector. Conversely, the Communications Services Sector saw a gain of around 0.85%, with telecom stocks rebounding from recent selling pressure.
Dow Jones news
Nike Inc. (NKE) led the decline in the Dow Jones index, plummeting approximately 7% on Friday after reporting a slowdown in sales in China, despite surpassing expectations on both revenue and earnings in their latest quarter. On the other hand, Boeing Co. (BA) emerged as the top gainer of the day, climbing six-tenths of a percent.
Meanwhile, Apple Inc. (AAPL) closed the day with a gain of around half a percent as the stock recovered from recent losses. Investor sentiment towards Apple waned after news broke that the US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the company for alleged anti-competitive practices and monopolization in the cellphone market, particularly concerning its iPhone products.
Looking ahead, investors will be focusing on next Thursday’s release of US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, with expectations that GDP growth in Q4 will remain steady at 3.2%. Additionally, next Friday will see the release of the latest update of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index. Market projections indicate that the month-over-month Core PCE in February is expected to decline slightly to 0.3% from the previous 0.4%.
Dow Jones Industrial Average technical outlook
It has been an exceptional week for the Dow Jones, witnessing a nearly 3% ascent from the week’s early lows near 38,760.79 to its peak. The index achieved new all-time highs twice within two days, culminating in a fresh record peak at 39,889.05 before consolidating in a narrow range near 39,600.00 as Friday’s session drew to a close.
Notably, the DJIA is poised to conclude the month with a fifth consecutive month of gains, with a roughly 2.9% increase from the recent swing low around 38,500.00. Demonstrating bullish momentum, the Dow Jones remains comfortably above the 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) positioned at 38,257.84.
Dow Jones Industrial Average 5-minute chart
