US stocks end mixed, nab seventh week of gains as dollar rebounds

[December 16, 2023]  By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks wobbled to a mixed close and the dollar bounced back on Friday as market participants caught their breath at the end of a week loaded with central bank policy decisions and crucial economic data.

Treasury yields edged down past multi-month lows.

Euphoria over the U.S. Federal Reserve's dovish pivot was dampened a bit after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams pushed back against rate cut expectations, reiterating that the central bank remains focused on bringing inflation down to its 2% target.

All three major U.S stock indexes oscillated for much of the session, but by closing bell the S&P 500 was nominally lower, the Dow was modestly higher and interest rate-sensitive tech- and tech-adjacent momentum stocks put the Nasdaq out front.

"We’ve been hovering around the flatline all day today," said Bill Northey, senior investment director at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Helena, Montana. "After moving through some critical macroeconomic data points, including the Fed meeting, the market is digesting the news."

All three indexes registered their seventh consecutive weekly gains, marking the S&P 500's longest streak of weekly gains since September 2017, and the Dow's longest since late 2018-early 2019.
 

"It’s important to step back to early November when we saw the October price index print," Northey said. "Since that time we’ve seen real evidence of a decelerating inflation trend, which has allowed the Fed to pivot and reconcile with views that were already reflected in the market."

"Our expectation is that trends in place over the past six weeks are likely to follow through to year end albeit at a somewhat slower pace," Northey added.

Economic data released on Friday signaled an uptick in U.S. business activity but also showed the manufacturing sector continues to struggle.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 56.81 points, or 0.15%, to 37,305.16, the S&P 500 lost 0.36 points, or 0.01%, to 4,719.19 and the Nasdaq Composite added 52.36 points, or 0.35%, to 14,813.92.

Signage for the London Stock Exchange Group is seen outside of offices in Canary Wharf in London, Britain, August 3, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

European shares ended nearly flat to cap a week of rising rate cut expectations, posting their fifth consecutive weekly gain.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.01% but MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.06%.

Emerging market stocks rose 0.72%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 1.03% higher, while Japan's Nikkei rose 0.87%.

U.S. Treasury yields dipped put trimmed their decline after the Fed's Williams reined in the rate cut fervor.

Benchmark 10-year notes rose 5/32 in price to yield 3.911%, from 3.93% late on Thursday.

The 30-year bond rose 24/32 in price to yield 4.0138%, from 4.054% late on Thursday.

The dollar rebounded against a basket of world currencies. But the index registered its biggest weekly drop in a month after the Fed's dovish pivot. In contrast, the Fed's European counterparts maintained a tougher stance, which had boosted the euro and the pound on Thursday.

The dollar index rose 0.56%, with the euro down 0.89% to $1.0893

The Japanese yen weakened 0.24% to 142.22 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.2672, down 0.74% on the day.

Oil prices eased back from the previous session's sharp gains with U.S. crude settling 0.21% lower at $71.43 per barrel, while Brent settled at $76.55 per barrel, down 0.08% on the day.

Gold notched a weekly gain, but dropped 0.8% on the day to $2,018.91 an ounce.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Kirsten Donovan and Diane Craft)

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