Stocks end higher ahead of Fed meeting, Dow caps best week since Jan.
By: JeeYeon Park | CNBC.com Stock Market Writer
Stocks closed near session highs Friday,
with the Dow posting its second best weekly gain this year, as investors
looked ahead to next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting and shrugged
off an earlier batch of tepid economic reports.
(Read more: Market is fat, bored and complacent as stocks approach record highs)
(Read more: Market is fat, bored and complacent as stocks approach record highs)
| Name | Price | Change | %Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJIA | Dow Jones Industrial Average | 15376.06 | 75.42 | 0.49% | |
| S&P 500 | S&P 500 Index | 1687.99 | 4.57 | 0.27% | |
| NASDAQ | Nasdaq Composite Index | 3722.18 | 6.22 | 0.17% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed in positive territory, led by Intel, rallying nearly 3 percent for the week and logging its its second-best weekly gain this year.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also finished higher. All three major averages posted their second-straight week of gains. And so far for the month, all three averages are up more than 3 percent.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, finished unchanged near 14.
For the week, the Dow soared 3.04 percent, the S&P 500 rallied 3.37 percent, and the Nasdaq jumped 3.69 percent. Most Dow components finished in positive territory for the week, led by Disney and Microsoft, while Hewlett-Packard was the only blue-chip stock that closed in the red.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also finished higher. All three major averages posted their second-straight week of gains. And so far for the month, all three averages are up more than 3 percent.
The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, finished unchanged near 14.
For the week, the Dow soared 3.04 percent, the S&P 500 rallied 3.37 percent, and the Nasdaq jumped 3.69 percent. Most Dow components finished in positive territory for the week, led by Disney and Microsoft, while Hewlett-Packard was the only blue-chip stock that closed in the red.
Nation's debt drama takes center stage
CNBC's John Harwood and Ben
White, Politico chief economics correspondent, break down the results of
a recent NBC-WSJ poll that shows Republicans gaining an edge over their
political opponents on economic and foreign policy issues.
On the economic front, the Thomson
Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers' preliminary
September consumer sentiment index fell to 76.8
from the final August figure of 82.1, according to the survey released
on Friday. Economists in a Reuters survey expected a reading of 82.
Retail sales rose a meager 0.2 percent in August, according to the Commerce Department, suggesting that economic growth slowed in the third quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a gain of 0.4 percent following an increase of 0.4 percent in July.
And producer prices rose 0.3 percent in August as energy costs rebounded, according to the Labor Department. Economist surveyed by Reuters expected a gain of 0.2 percent.
Business inventories gained 0.4 percent in July, posting their largest increase in six months, according to the Commerce Department. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected an increase of 0.2 percent.
The slew of economic data came ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy-setting meeting next week. The central bank currently purchases $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds in its effort to stimulate the economy. The latest Reuters poll showed economists at a majority of U.S. primary dealers expect the Fed to announce it will cut its bond purchases by $10 billion.
(Read more: Fed chair pick likely in a few weeks, not next week)
"The numbers were a bit softer than expected but I hope investors aren't thinking that the Fed isn't going to taper because they are dead set on at least starting it," said Randy Warren, CIO at Warren Financial Service. "[A reduction of about] $10 billion seems reasonable and the market seems to have priced it in at this point."
Retail sales rose a meager 0.2 percent in August, according to the Commerce Department, suggesting that economic growth slowed in the third quarter. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a gain of 0.4 percent following an increase of 0.4 percent in July.
And producer prices rose 0.3 percent in August as energy costs rebounded, according to the Labor Department. Economist surveyed by Reuters expected a gain of 0.2 percent.
Business inventories gained 0.4 percent in July, posting their largest increase in six months, according to the Commerce Department. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected an increase of 0.2 percent.
The slew of economic data came ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy-setting meeting next week. The central bank currently purchases $85 billion a month in Treasury and mortgage bonds in its effort to stimulate the economy. The latest Reuters poll showed economists at a majority of U.S. primary dealers expect the Fed to announce it will cut its bond purchases by $10 billion.
(Read more: Fed chair pick likely in a few weeks, not next week)
"The numbers were a bit softer than expected but I hope investors aren't thinking that the Fed isn't going to taper because they are dead set on at least starting it," said Randy Warren, CIO at Warren Financial Service. "[A reduction of about] $10 billion seems reasonable and the market seems to have priced it in at this point."
Is American consumer tapped out?
James Fallon, Women's Wear
Daily editor, shares his outlook on the retail sector and where
consumers are spending their money now.
Verizon was upgraded to "overweight" by Evercore Partners on the heels of its purchase of Vodafone's 45-percent stake in Verizon Wireless. According to Dow Jones, BlackRock
and Pimco bought at least a quarter of Verizon's record $49 billion
bond offering that it will use to refinance the acquisition. Pimco is
said to have bought $8 billion, while BlackRock bought about $5 billion.
Intel was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies, which also raised its price target for the chipmaker to $30 from $27 per share.
Apple dipped after Jefferies cut its price target on the tech giant to $425 from $450.
And late Thursday, Twitter disclosed it had filed for an initial public offering (IPO). Goldman Sachs is the social media messaging site's lead underwriter, sources told CNBC.
(Read more: Twitter spices up market day, before retail sales)
Still, worries over Syria lingered as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continued talks on disarming Syria's chemical weapons program. After Thursday's meeting, Kerry said pledges of Syria's regime to give up its chemical arms were "simply not enough."
Intel was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies, which also raised its price target for the chipmaker to $30 from $27 per share.
Apple dipped after Jefferies cut its price target on the tech giant to $425 from $450.
And late Thursday, Twitter disclosed it had filed for an initial public offering (IPO). Goldman Sachs is the social media messaging site's lead underwriter, sources told CNBC.
(Read more: Twitter spices up market day, before retail sales)
Still, worries over Syria lingered as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov continued talks on disarming Syria's chemical weapons program. After Thursday's meeting, Kerry said pledges of Syria's regime to give up its chemical arms were "simply not enough."
—By CNBC's JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter:
MONDAY: Empire state mfg survey, industrial production
TUESDAY: CPI, Treasury int'l capital, housing market index, FOMC mtg begins; Earnings from Adobe Systems
WEDNESDAY: Mortgage applications, housing starts, oil inventories, FOMC mtg announcemnet, FOMC forecasts, Bernanke press conference, Apple iOS 7 available; Earnings from FedEx, General Mills, Oracle
THURSDAY: Jobless claims, current account, existing home sales, Philadelphia Fed survey, leading indicators, natural gas inventories, Fed's Pianalto speaks, Fed balance sheet/money supply, Microsoft analyst mtg, Nike shareholder mtg, weekly rail numbers; Earnings from ConAgra, Rite Aid
FRIDAY: Fed's George speaks, Fed's Bullard speaks, Fed's Kocherlakota speaks, quadruple witching, new iPhones in stores
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@JeeYeonParkCNBC) Coming Up Next Week:
MONDAY: Empire state mfg survey, industrial production
TUESDAY: CPI, Treasury int'l capital, housing market index, FOMC mtg begins; Earnings from Adobe Systems
WEDNESDAY: Mortgage applications, housing starts, oil inventories, FOMC mtg announcemnet, FOMC forecasts, Bernanke press conference, Apple iOS 7 available; Earnings from FedEx, General Mills, Oracle
THURSDAY: Jobless claims, current account, existing home sales, Philadelphia Fed survey, leading indicators, natural gas inventories, Fed's Pianalto speaks, Fed balance sheet/money supply, Microsoft analyst mtg, Nike shareholder mtg, weekly rail numbers; Earnings from ConAgra, Rite Aid
FRIDAY: Fed's George speaks, Fed's Bullard speaks, Fed's Kocherlakota speaks, quadruple witching, new iPhones in stores
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