Stocks opened lower Friday but climbed into positive territory by lunchtime. Investors cheered this week's encouraging economic data that showed inflation continued to cool and consumer spending remains resilient. Next up is the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where Fed Chair Powell will deliver a highly anticipated speech on Friday.
As for today's economic news, the University of Michigan said its Consumer Sentiment Index rose 2.1% in August vs the month prior, its first increase in five months. And while consumers' long-term expectations also rose, their views on current conditions fell to 60.9, the lowest level since December 2022.
Elsewhere, data from the Census Bureau showed housing starts fell by 6.8% in July to a lower-than-expected 1.238 million. Building permits, which tend to be a better indicator of future construction, were down 4% to 1.42 million.
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While "consumer sentiment progressed for the first month in five … construction activity plunged to depths last seen near the peak of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020," says José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers. "The cross-currents have traders sitting on their hands as they await next week's central banking developments, hoping that policymakers will offer clues on the path forward."
Powell to speak at Jackson Hole
The most notable event next week will be Powell's Friday morning speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. "An evolution of the July FOMC language would suggest the committee is 'very close' or 'close' to the point where easing is likely to occur," says Michael Gapen, head of U.S. economics at BofA Global Research.
However, Powell could take a more dovish tone, especially following the weak July jobs report, and say that "the committee wants to avoid 'unexpected weakness' in the labor market, rather than simply responding to it after it occurs," Gapen adds.
Alphabet logs longest weekly losing streak on record
In single-stock news, Alphabet (GOOGL) shares climbed 1% Friday but still ended the week down 0.4% as concern swirled that a recent antitrust ruling against Google will result in a forced breakup.
This was the Magnificent 7 stock's sixth straight weekly decline, its longest on record.
Applied Materials, H&R Block move after earnings
Applied Materials (AMAT) fell 1.9% even after the semiconductor equipment firm disclosed higher-than-expected earnings and revenue for its fiscal Q4.
"Demand from China has been robust and acted to offset slower recovery in demand from North America, Europe, and the rest of Asia," says Argus Research analyst Jim Kelleher (Buy). "This regional shift should drive higher sales of leading-edge nodes, which we expect to result in margin expansion across the remainder of calendar 2024."
H&R Block (HRB) was another post-earnings mover, only its shares surged 12.1% after the tax provider's fiscal Q4 results beat expectations. HRB also hiked its quarterly dividend by 17% and disclosed a new $1.5 billion stock buyback plan.
As for the main indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% at 40,659, while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2% at 17,631) and the S&P 500 (+0.2% to 5,554) both notched a seventh consecutive day of gains.
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