Stock Market Watch

Stocks Mixed By Late Trade

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U.S. stocks oscillated  between gains and losses for most part of the session and were mixed by late trade on Friday as investors remained in sidelines following two days of sharp decline.

Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 Index were on track to clock their worst weekly performances so far this year.

At last check, the Dow Jones Index slid 0.04%; the NASDAQ Composite Index inched up 0.08% while the S&P 500 Index fell 0.20%.

With U.S. economic indicators showing mixed signs and no clear indication over when the Federal Reserve could start tapering its $85 billion worth monthly bond purchase program, equity markets are likely to remain choppy until the next open market committee meeting (FOMC).

Earlier today, the Commerce Department said that housing starts rose 5.9% in July to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 896,000 units, which was below economists’’ forecast for 915,000 units.

The University of Michigan / Thomson Reuters’ consumer sentiment index fell to 80 in August after climbing to 85.1 in July. Economists expected a reading of 85.1.

The Labor Department said that the nonfarm productivity rose 0.9% in the second quarter, surpassing economists’ forecast for 0.7% increase.

Shares of Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ: AMAT) gained about 1.80% by late trade even after the Company reported 23% drop in net income and 16% fall in revenue for the fiscal third quarter.

Shares of Aspen Technology Inc (NASDAQ: AZPN) climbed about 7.80% by late trade. The Company, late on Thursday, reported adjusted profit of $22.7 million or 24 cents a share on revenue of $83.26 million for the fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts’ forecast was for earnings of 8 cents a share on revenue of $78.79 million.

 

 

 








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edliston
Post Written By: Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.

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Ed Liston

Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing.

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