US stocks end five day losing streak

Telecom stocks lead the gains

U.S. stocks erased early losses to close modestly higher on Thursday, 16 June 2016 ending a five-day streak of losses. For the past several sessions, a British referendum scheduled for June 23 to decide whether the U.K. will remain in the European Union had been weighing on risky assets like equities. On Thursday, stocks seemed to find some support after both sides in the referendum debate suspended campaigning for the day after British lawmaker Jo Cox died following a shooting attack.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased a triple-digit loss to close with a gain of 92.93 points, or 0.5%, at 17,733.10. The Nasdaq Composite ended the session up 9.98 points, or 0.2%, at 4,844.91. The S&P 500 closed 6.50 points, or 0.3%, higher at 2,078, after trading as low as 2,050.27 earlier in the session.

Nine out of the S&P's 10 sectors ended in positive territory, with telecom stocks leading the gains.

The main indexes advanced even as oil futures dropped to a five-week low, weighing on energy stocks, which was the only sector on the S&P that closed in negative territory. Meanwhile, the financial sector was hit earlier in the day by the prospect of interest rates staying lower for longer, after the Fed signaled Wednesday that it will delay interest rate increases, demonstrating it's not overly confident in the economy.

But investors across the world were fretting about the potential consequences of a Brexit vote, particularly after three major central banksthe Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japanraised concerns about the U.K. potentially leaving the EU in the June 23 referendum.

Meanwhile, the Japanese central bank on Thursday made no changes to its asset-purchase program or interest rates. The lack of action was interpreted as caution ahead of the June 23 Brexit referendum. On Thursday, the Bank of England also kept its key interest rate unchanged at a record low of 0.5% and made no changes to its 375-billion-pound ($530 billion) asset-purchase program. The BOE said in a statement that a potential vote to leave the EU could materially alter the outlook for output and inflation in the U.K.

On the U.S. economic front, a flurry of fresh data offered a mixed picture of the U.S. economy. A reading on U.S. inflation missed expectations on Thursday, while initial jobless claims rose. But rent rose at the fastest monthly pace since 2007 last month, a reminder that one of the biggest expenses for most Americans isn't easing up. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index showed mild improvement in June, logging its second positive reading in the past 10 months. And a closely watched index of home builder sentiment rose to its highest reading since January.

Crude Oil futures settled lower for a sixth straight session on Thursday, 16 June 2016, their longest losing streak since Februaryand marked their lowest settlement in about five weeks. Market jitters over the looming U.K. referendum on whether to leave the European Union, a so-called Brexit, fueled concerns about a potential slowdown in energy demand and a recent rise in the number of U.S. rigs drilling for oil pointed to a possible uptick in crude production levels.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, July West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.80, or 3.8%, to finish at $46.21 a barrel. August Brent crude fell $1.78, or 3.6%, to settle at $47.19 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.

Bullion prices ended higher at Comex on Thursday, 16 June 2016. Gold futures rose for a seventh straight session Thursday, but settled back below the closely watched $1,300 mark, finding support as the Federal Reserve stirred already percolating global growth concerns and developments surrounding the U.K. referendum fueled further economic uncertainty. But gold prices significantly pared their gains on Thursday following news that British lawmaker Jo Cox died following a shooting attack, prompting both sides in the referendum debate to suspend campaigning for the day.

August gold rose $10.10, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,298.40 an ounce, trading well below the intraday high of $1,318.90. July silver rose 10.4 cents, or 0.6%, to $17.607 an ounce.

The Treasury complex ended on a mixed note with the yield on the 10-yr note finishing flat at 1.57%.

Today's participation was above the recent average as more than 865 million shares changed hands on the NYSE floor.

Tomorrow's data will be limited to Housing Starts (consensus 1,150k) and Building Permits (consensus 1,150k) for May, which will be released at 8:30 ET.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News