Stocks Close Modestly Lower Ahead Of Holiday Weekend - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - With many traders away from their desks, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The major averages spent much of the day in negative territory before closing modestly lower.

The major averages ended the session in negative territory but off their worst levels of the day. The Dow dipped 28.23 points or 0.1 percent to 24,754.06, the Nasdaq edged down 5.40 points or 0.1 percent to 6,959.96 and the S&P 500 slipped 1.23 points or 0.1 percent to 2,683.34.

Despite the slight drop on the day, the major averages moved moderately higher for the week. The Dow climbed by 0.4 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both rose by 0.3 percent.

Activity on Wall Street remained light throughout the day, as many traders looked to get a head start on the Christmas weekend.

Traders shrugged off the slew of U.S. economic data released this morning, including a Commerce Department report showing a spike in new home sales to a ten-year high in November.

The Commerce Department said new home sales surged up by 17.5 percent to an annual rate of 733,000 in November from the revised October rate of 624,000.

Economists had expected new home sales to drop to 654,000 from the 685,000 originally reported for the previous month.

With the unexpected jump, new home sales in November were at their highest annual rate since reaching 778,000 in July of 2007.

Before the start of trading, the Commerce Department released a separate showing a rebound in durable goods orders in the month of November.

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders surged up by 1.3 percent in November after falling by a revised 0.4 percent in October.

The increase in orders came in below economist estimates for a 2.0 percent jump, although the revised drop in the previous month was much smaller than the 0.8 percent decrease that had been reported.

Excluding a rebound in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders edged down by 0.1 percent in November after spiking by a revised 1.3 percent in October.

Another Commerce Department showed a smaller than expected increase in personal income in the month of November, while personal spending climbed by more than expected.

The report said personal income rose by 0.3 percent in November after climbing by 0.4 percent in October. Economists had expected another 0.4 percent increase.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said personal spending climbed by 0.6 percent in November after edging up by 0.2 percent in October. Spending had been expected to rise by 0.5 percent.

Sector News

Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, contributing to the lackluster close by the broader markets.

Trucking stocks saw significant strength, however, with the Dow Jones Trucking Index jumping by 1.8 percent. With the gain, the index reached a record closing high.

YRC Worldwide (YRCW) and Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) turned in two of the trucking sector's best performances on the day.

Gold stocks also moved notably higher amid an increase by the price of the precious metal, while some weakness was visible among electronic storage and internet stocks.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index dipped by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index edged down by 0.2 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction before closing roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 2.485 percent.

Looking Ahead

Trading activity may remain somewhat subdued next week, as many traders are likely to remain away from their desks following the long weekend.

Reports on consumer confidence, pending home sales and Chicago business activity may still attract attention in the final trading week of the year.