By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. stock market closed higher
Friday after an abrupt late-day reversal. Analysts attributed such
a move to 'buying the dip' strategy that has been the theme in the
past few months.
Stocks traded in negative territory for the most of the session,
after mixed economic reports in the morning.
The S&P 500 (SPX) added 7.01 points, or 0.4%, to 1,877.86
and finished the week with a slight loss. It touched record levels
during the week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 44.50 points, or
0.3%, to 16,491.31, limiting the weekly loss to 0.6%. It also
notched a new record during the week.
The Nasdaq Composite's (RIXF) gain on Friday helped the index to
register a weekly gain. The index ended the day up 21.30 points, or
0.5%, at 4,090.59 and gained 0.5% over the week.
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action.
"It looks like several selloff attempts and shallow retreats
brought in buyers in the afternoon," said Gene Peroni, senior vice
president of equity research at Advisors Asset Management.
"Markets firmed as short-sellers went neutral going into the
weekend, as there is more fear of being short than being long right
now," he added.
Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones echoes this
view.
"This has been a consistent pattern: every time stocks decline,
buyers arrived and bought the dip as the long-term outlook remains
positive," Warne said.
Time to sell this market? Acampora, Tepper think so
Construction on new U.S. homes surged in April to the fastest
pace in five months, with the volatile apartment category leading
that jump, according to government data released Friday. Results
topped economists' forecasts and signaled that home construction is
continuing to rebound from a tough winter.
The preliminary May reading of the University of Michigan and
Thomson Reuters's gauge of consumer sentiment fell unexpectedly to
81.8 from 84.1 in April. Economists expected to see a reading of
85.
10-year Treasury notes (10_YEAR), which rallied on Thursday amid
a flight to safety, fell slightly after the strong housing data,
but yields were still at 2.51%.
Retail stocks in focus
Reaction to late-session earnings on Thursday from J.C. Penney
Co. and other retailers kept retail in the spotlight.
Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP) shares soared 16% after the midprice
department store on Thursday posted a better-than-expected 6.2%
same-store sales gain. J.C. Penney CEO: 'We've turned an important
corner' Read: Sterne Agee analysts explain why they're not true
believers.
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) shares jumped 15% after the retailer
reported results late Thursday above Wall Street's
expectations.
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) said it swung to a second-quarter
profit from a loss a year earlier, lifting shares 8.1%.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA) (BRK/A) bought
shares of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and added to its stake
in DaVita Healthcare Partners (DVA) according to 13f security
filings. Shares in Verizon were up 2.3%.
Shares in General Motors Co. (GM.XX) fell 1% on news Berkshire
Hathaway unloaded the stock. Read: GM loses favor with some big
investors; interest in Verizon, MGM grows.
European stocks off, oil inches higher
Europe's main stock index, the Stoxx Europe 600 closed
marginally higher. In Asia, India's S&P BSE Sensex finished at
an all-time high as election results indicated a new government
will be lead by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.
In other markets, crude oil futures(CLM4) climbed Friday to
tally a gain of 2% for the week as a jump in April U.S. housing
starts and the coming summer-driving season raised expectations for
energy demand.
Gold futures (GCM4) settled with a slight loss on Friday, but
still scored a gain for the week.
The dollar fell against the British pound Friday as investors
struggled to get a sense of when major central banks could begin to
raise interest rates. Read: Why a dollar rally is elusive.
More must-reads from MarketWatch:
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markets
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