Traders Edge – Monday 2nd July 2018

Wall Street’s major stock indexes edged higher on Friday, as a surge in Nike shares helped the quarter close out on an upswing while concerns over US international trade relations ebbed. For the quarter, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all posted gains. The Dow edged up 0.7 per cent, the S&P 500 rose 2.94 per cent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 6.33 per cent. The small-cap Russell 2000, whose components are more domestically focused than their large-cap counterparts, climbed 7.4 per cent.

Like the Russell, the S&P’s major sectors reflected some skittishness over trade. Energy had the biggest percentage gains for the quarter as oil prices jumped, and growth sectors such as technology and consumer discretionary stocks had solid gains. But real estate and utilities, considered defensive sectors, also advanced. On Friday, shares of Nike soared 13 per cent to hit an all-time high of $US81 after the world’s largest footwear maker reported a return to growth in North America in the last quarter and gave an upbeat forecast for the year. Nike shares ended the day up 11.1 per cent to $US79.68, their biggest one-day gain in nearly four years. Nike was the top boost to the Dow and the S&P 500.

The S&P 500 bank sector index ended the day barely changed after earlier touching a one-week high. The Federal Reserve late on Thursday reported that US lenders cleared the second part of the Fed’s annual stress tests, though the Fed placed conditions on some, restricting Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley from increasing capital distributions.