U.S. stocks failed to end a five consecutive week track record on Thursday ahead of the long Easter weekend.
The S&P 500 SPX, -0.04% declined 0.77 points to close at 2,035.94, putting the index back into negative territory for the year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed a small gain, up 13.14 points, or 0.1%, at 17,515,73. The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.64 points, or 0.1%, to finish at 4,773.50.
Sentiment is changing like the wind, with investors cautious about the timings of a rate hike from the Fed, with a number of hawkish remarks this week from various Fed members arriving after a dovish outcome at last week’s FOMC. The US dollar has been making ground and this too hurts companies that sell goods overseas.
Energy stocks were also in the firing line this week on U.S. oil prices. Oil dropped over 4.% to $39.46 a barrel this week on big builds while the greenback strengthened as well in a counter-trend and that too has been driving the market.
The majority of the U.S. markets will be closed for Good Friday, but Wall Street will start again on Monday on a week where we will get the key US nonfarm payrolls event. First up we have tomorrow’s US GDP:
US: Durable goods orders report highlights risks to Q1 GDP growth – Wells Fargo
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)