Last Updated: 4:05 PM EST
Stock indices finished today’s trading session mixed. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.26% and 0.16%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.04%. On Friday, the National Association of Realtors released its U.S. Existing Home Sales report, which measures the change in sales of existing residential buildings during the previous month on an annualized basis. Existing home sales came in at 4.11 million for the month of May, above the expected 4.08 million.
Still, existing home sales decreased month-over-month by 0.7% after a 1.9% drop in March. Indeed, existing home sales have increased only five times in the past 24 months as higher interest rates continue to make homeownership difficult.
In addition, Markit released its preliminary monthly report for the U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index and the U.S. Services Purchasing Managers’ Index, which measure the activity levels of purchasing managers in the manufacturing and services sectors, respectively. A number over 50 represents an expansion, whereas anything below 50 means a contraction.
For the former, the report came in at 51.7, which was higher than the expected 51, while the latter came in at 55.1, also above estimates of 53.4.
First Published: 12:28 AM EST
U.S. futures were flat on Friday morning after the S&P 500 Index (SPX) and Nasdaq Composite recorded new highs yesterday. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the S&P 500 (SPX) were down by about 0.06% and 0.02%, respectively, at 3:25 a.m. EST, June 21, while the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) was up 0.07%.
Yesterday, the stock market witnessed a mixed performance. The Dow Jones index gained 0.77%, marking its best performance this month. On the other hand, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite indices declined 0.25% and 0.79%, respectively, after hitting record highs. The downside can be attributed to investors taking profits after the recent surge in AI-related technology stocks such as Nvidia (NVDA), Broadcom (AVGO), Micron Technology (MU), and Qualcomm (QCOM).
It should be noted that all three major indices are likely to end this week in the green. The Nasdaq, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones have gained 0.2%, 0.8%, and 1.4% so far this week. The upside was supported by a rally in technology stocks.
Moving to key economic reports due today, the preliminary readings of the Global Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reports for June are scheduled for release. Furthermore, the Existing Home Sales data for May will be made public today. On the earnings front, CarMax (KMX) will announce its quarterly results today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was up at the time of writing, floating near 4.27%. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures trended lower, hovering near $81.25 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European stocks opened lower today as investors awaited the release of a slew of data, including June Manufacturing and Services PMI reports from across the region.
Asia Pacific Markets Traded Lower on Friday
Asia-Pacific markets traded in the red today as investors evaluated Japan’s lower-than-expected core inflation report for May.
At the time of writing, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down by 1.50%. At the same time, China’s Shenzhen Component and Shanghai Composite indices declined 0.24% and 0.04%, respectively. Further, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices traded lower by 0.1% and 0.03%, respectively.
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