Wall Street logged another record day as investors flooded back into the equity market after Fed Chair nominee Janet Yellen's dovish testimony to the Senate Banking Committee Thursday soothed fears of an imminent Fed asset-purchase tapering.
Bearish manufacturing data amplified the early upward momentum with Friday's flurry of data all supporting a continuation of the Fed's accommodative monetary policy. Interest-rate sensitive stocks outperformed, with financials and homebuilders offsetting weakness in healthcare and technology stocks.
With Friday's higher finish, the S&P 500 has its longest win streak since February. Both the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials close higher for a 6th-straight week. The Nasdaq Composite snapped a two-week losing streak.
Friday's economic data included a significant decline in the Empire State Manufacturing Survey index to -2.21 from +1.52 in October and well below estimates for an increase to 5.5. Import and export prices were all below estimates, while industrial production and capacity utilization were both unexpectedly weak in October, against estimates for a small improvement in both.
Finally, wholesale inventories kept their current pace, increasing an as-expected 0.4% in September.
US MARKETS
- Dow Jones Industrial Index was up 85 points, or 0.5%, at 15,961
- S&P 500 was up 7.5 points, or 0.4%, at 1,798
- Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13 points, or 0.3%, at 3,985
- FTSE 100 was up 0.41%
- Nikkei 225 was up 1.95%
- Hang Seng Index was up 1.69%
- Shanghai China Composite Index was up 1.68%
- GEVO, CNBC reported that Ford (F) and Coca-Cola (KO) plan to use Gevo technology for car interiors and packaging.
- FONR, Reported Q1 net income of $2.3 million, or $0.37 per share, up 68% from the prior-year period's earnings of $0.22 per share.
- PEIX The White House proposed a reduced quota for the amount of renewable fuel that refiners must use next year after the refining industry said quotas in 2007 legislation were too high.
- GSE Reported Q3 GAAP net loss of $1.77 per diluted share, reversing a $0.27 per share profit in the year-ago quarter
- NPTN The stock was downgraded to a Buy from a Strong Buy by Needham & Co and its price target lowered to $10 from $13 a share.
- CPHI Reported a $2.3 million net loss, losing $0.05 per share during the quarter after posting a $0.03 per share profit during the same period last year.
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