Wall Street erased some of the Thursday’s gains as the Dow Jones and S&P 500 closed lower for the second consecutive week. Mixed economic data suggested the market might be too far ahead of an economic recovery.
In economic news, a report showed personal income rose 1.4% in May, ahead of the 0.3% forecast. The government said personal spending increased 0.3% in May, in line with forecasts.
Meanwhile, personal saving climbed from 5.6% of income in April to 6.9%, the highest level in 15 years.
The Dow Jones lost 34.01 points, or 0.40%, to 8,438.39, the S&P's 500 shed 1.36 points, or 0.15%, to 918.90 and the NASDAQ added 8.68 points, or 0.47%, to 1,838.22.
Financials were stronger with Bank of America and Morgan Stanley leading the charge with 3.2% and 2.7% gains. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Wells Fargo advanced 1.6%, 0.9% and 0.3% respectively.
American Express fell 2.8%, while insurer Berkshire Hathaway lost 0.6%.
Energy stocks tracked the price of crude lower. Chevron and Exxon Mobil shed 1.4% and 1.2%, while ConocoPhillips dipped 0.3%.
It was a mixed day for the tech sector. Apple added 1.9%, while search engines Google and Yahoo! put on 2.3% and 1.4%.
Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and IBM lost 1.9%, 1.3% and 0.4%.
Retailers Wal-Mart and Target weakened 1.1% and 1.8%, while Costco edged 0.3% higher.
COMEX gold for August delivery settled up US$1.50 to US$941 an ounce.
NYMEX light crude oil for August delivery settled down US$1.07 to US$69.16.
European Markets
European markets recorded two consecutive weeks of declines for the first time since the rebound began in March. Financials were lower Friday as resource stocks struggled with lower commodity prices.
The UK benchmark FTSE 100 shed 11.56, or 0.27% at 4,241.01. France’s CAC40 slid 33.37, or 1.05% to 3,129.73, while the German DAX weakened 24.09, or 0.50%, to 4,776.47.
Among financials, Barclays and Standard Chartered shed 0.6% and 0.7%, while Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC gained 3.7% and 0.9%.
France’s Societe Generale and BNP Paribas slid 0.9% and 0.8%. Deutsche Bank was 1% dearer.
Insurers Allianz and Prudential weakened 2.4% and 1.7% , while AXA put on 0.3%.
Miners Xstrata and Antofagasta added 2.5% and 0.3%. Anglo American dipped 1.5%, while Aussie peers Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton shed 1% and 0.7% respectively.
Energy stocks BP and Royal Dutch Shell slid 0.6% and 0.3% as BG Group gained 0.2%.
Pharmaceuticals lagged, with Sanofi-Aventis falling 8.1% on concerns related to its diabetes drug Lantus.
Japanese Markets
Japan’s Nikkei rose as positive company earnings forecasts buoyed investors. Gains were widespread as the broader market has now risen 40% since the March low.
The Nikkei 225 added 81.31 or 0.83% to 9,877.39.
Tyre maker Bridgestone jumped 8.5% after lowering its forecast for losses in the first half. Sumitomo Rubber and Yokohama Rubber climbed 8% and 7.6%.
Suzuki Motor rallied 5.5%.
Nippon Electric was 6.3% stronger after raising its profit forecast, while rival Asahi Glass added 2.6%.
Nippon Building gained 3.6% following an analyst upgrade, while property developer Mitsui Fudasan advanced 3%. Nippon Oil added 3%.
Hong Kong Markets
Hong Kong shares ended the week on positive note, recording their third straight day in the black. Shippers, banking stocks and property all gained as investors saw positives for the second half of the year.
The Hang Seng added 325.23, or +1.78% to 18,600.26.
Heavyweight banks mostly rose, with Bank of China climbing 2%, while number one lender ICBC put on 1.1%.
HSBC dipped 0.5%.
The world’s largest property developer, Sun Hung Kai Properties, was 3.1% above the line.
Among the shippers, China Cosco Holdings surged 7.9% after its boss said it expected freight to increase, while rival China Shipping Container Lines Co spiked 8.8%.
Resource stocks also performed well, with Yanzhou Coal Mining put on 4.5% and China Shenhua climbing 6.5%.
Angang Steel, China’s number two steelmaker, gained 0.6%.
