By Anora Mahmudova, Carla Mozee and Victor Reklaitis,
MarketWatch
Gap rallies on sales reports; Zynga falls after results
Gap rallies on sales reports; Zynga falls after results
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street edged higher Friday, as
investors cautiously welcomed a report that Russia is looking to
dial down its conflict with Ukraine, while largely brushing off
news of U.S. air strikes in Iraq.
War Central: Live updates on Iraq, Ukraine and Gaza
But even with Friday's gains, the main benchmarks were still set
to record modest weekly losses, building on sharp declines a week
ago.
The S&P 500 (SPX)was up 3 points, or 0.2%, at 1,912.73. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI)had gained 20.87 points, or 0.1%,
to 16,391.32, while the Nasdaq Composite (RIXF)added 4 points, or
0.1%, at 4,340.10.
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action.
Headlines from Russia and the Middle East dominated news. Stock
futures fell in early premarket trade, but the flight to safe-haven
assets receded after Russian news agency RIA said Russia is seeking
to de-escalate tensions with Ukraine. On Thursday, Russian
President Vladimir Putin had hit back with sanctions against the
countries that placed trade and restrictions on Moscow.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has struck ISIL artillery that had
been used against Kurdish forces defending Erbil, the Pentagon said
Friday.
"Equities are likely to trade sideways throughout August and be
driven by geopolitical headline news," said Terry Sandven, chief
equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "From a technical
standpoint, it is a good time to add to positions as we do not
expect a 10% correction at this point."
In the Middle East, Israel said Hamas had violated a 72-hour
cease-fire and ordered the military to resume fire in the Gaza
Strip.
Individuals stock moves
On the data front, a report on U.S. labor productivity in the
second quarter showed a 2.5% rise, beating the 1.7% gain expected
by economists polled by MarketWatch.
Among individual stocks, Gap (GPS)climbed 6% after the apparel
retailer's same-store sales increased 2% in July, topping analysts'
expectations.
Zynga shares (ZNGA) fell 5.5% after the online social-gaming
company late Thursday reported that its second-quarter loss had
widened to $62.5 million, or 7 cents a share. (Read more about
notable stock moves here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zynga-plummets-tesla-falls-short-of-record-2014-08-07.)
In other markets, oil futures (CLU4) ticked up, and gold futures
(GCZ4) were edging up, in a possible sign of nervousness among
investors. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note's yield fell 3 basis
points to 2.38% and was on track for a 14-month low. European
stocks remained lower but were off the worst levels of the
session.
Investors had sought safety in the Japanese yen (USDJPY), and
that push higher for the currency led to a 3% dive in Japanese
stocks.
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