US open: Stocks flat heading into the weekend, political ruckus weighs
Wall Street is essentially flat heading into the weekend after the head of the University of Michigan's consumer confidence survey said recent events in Charlottesville were likely to take their toll on sentiment.
Earlier in the day, the White House had announced that National Economic Council director Gary Cohn would not be stepping down, quashing rumours from the previous session which had weighed on capital markets and giving markets a bid.
The announcement followed resignation over the previous sessions of multiple top executives from the various councils and forums set-up by President Trump to tackle some of the key policy issues facing the country.
As of 1600 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was slipping 0.25% or 63.58 points to 21,692.08, alongside a retreat of 0.16% or 3.73 points for the S & P 500 to 2,426.16 even as the Nasdaq Composite fought to keep its head above water at 6,221.29.
The University of Michigan's consumer confidence index for August improved from a reading of 93.4 for July to 97.6 in August.
However, commenting on the rise survey director Richard Curtin said: "Too few interviews were conducted following Charlottesville to assess how much it will weaken consumers' economic assessments. The fallout is likely to reverse the improvement in economic expectations recorded across all political affiliations in early August.
"Moreover, the Charlottesville aftermath is more likely to weaken the economic expectations of Republicans, since prospects for Trump's economic policy agenda have diminished."
Commenting on the situation in markets, Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: "We're seeing risk aversion in the markets again on Friday, with the possibility of a self-inflicted crisis within Donald Trump’s White House and another terror attack, this time in Barcelona, weighing on risk appetite."
To take note of, on Thursday evening Dallas Fed boss Robert Kaplan told an audience in Texas he would like to see more progress on inflation "before I consider another rate increase".
"I'm being patient in terms of another rate increase," he reportedly said.
In other notewrothy remarks from prominent Fed officials, speaking on the same day Mineapolis Fed chief Neel Kashkari said than when deciding when to start unwinding its bond portfolio, the US central bank would take into consideration the state of negotiations on raising the federal government's debt ceiling.
Still on the economic calendar for Friday, Kaplan was set to deliver another speech, followed by a question and answer session, at 1900 BST.
Stock in Deere&Co. lost ground after the manufacturer of construction and farming equipment posted third quarter earnings per share of $1.55, falling woefully short of the $1.93 that analysts had penciled in. At $7.81bn, top line growth also fell short of the Street's expectations.
Sportswear-maker Footlocker shares were sharply lower after delivering weaker-than-expected quarterly EPS of 62 cents (consensus: 90 cents).
Calpine rocketed after the Journal reported that Energy Capital Partners was closing in on a $17bn deal to acquire the power company.
Dow Jones - Risers
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $113.71 0.50%
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $79.91 0.36%
Boeing Co. (BA) $236.37 0.33%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $92.36 0.31%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $221.94 0.24%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $90.79 0.19%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $133.25 0.16%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $158.02 0.10%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $76.26 0.01%
Visa Inc. (V) $102.12 -0.04%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Nike Inc. (NKE) $54.88 -4.49%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $147.47 -1.47%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $30.64 -1.29%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $190.87 -0.95%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $61.38 -0.74%
American Express Co. (AXP) $85.46 -0.73%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $139.84 -0.61%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $32.76 -0.59%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $47.62 -0.57%
3M Co. (MMM) $204.43 -0.45%
S&P 500 - Risers
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $58.38 9.47%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $13.83 9.33%
Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $105.34 7.14%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $98.49 2.27%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $44.06 2.18%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $169.60 2.11%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $30.19 1.91%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $8.80 1.91%
Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM) $36.70 1.82%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $31.05 1.60%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Deere & Co. (DE) $115.25 -7.04%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $54.88 -4.49%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $13.22 -4.27%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $17.07 -4.15%
CenturyLink Inc. (CTL) $18.68 -3.61%
L Brands Inc (LB) $36.39 -3.09%
Macerich Co (MAC) $53.06 -2.61%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $19.59 -2.54%
AutoZone Inc. (AZO) $502.52 -2.53%
Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG) $153.63 -2.27%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $58.38 9.47%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $50.61 2.89%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $246.72 2.19%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $44.06 2.18%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $169.60 2.11%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $30.19 1.91%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $31.05 1.60%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $160.40 1.22%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $62.08 1.16%
Discovery Communications Inc. Class A (DISCA) $22.50 1.15%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $144.67 -2.22%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $41.01 -1.44%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $30.64 -1.29%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $37.51 -1.16%
Viacom Inc. Class B (VIAB) $28.90 -1.06%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. - Ordinary Shares (NCLH) $55.58 -1.06%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $16.99 -1.05%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $54.35 -1.04%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $198.69 -0.97%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $133.34 -0.96%