U.S. market indexes lost more ground Friday and ended lower for the week. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 17,773.64 for a loss of 57.12 points or -0.32%. The Standard & Poor's 500 was also lower, closing at 2,065.30 for a loss of 10.51 points or -0.51%. For the week the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down -1.26%, and the S&P 500 was down -1.25%.
No change in interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan led markets lower for the week. New Zealand’s central bank also kept rates unchanged for the week. The Federal Reserve plans to tighten monetary policy, most likely later this year while both the Bank of Japan and New Zealand plan to ease policy by lowering rates. The Bank of Japan had the greatest affect on markets for the week as many believed the central bank would decrease rates. Their decision to keep rates unchanged continued to be a key factor leading markets lower Friday, specifically in Asia.
In Asia, China’s Shanghai Composite closed at 2,938.45, down 7.14 points. The Japan Nikkei 225 Index closed at 16,666.05, down 624.44. The Hong Kong Hang Seng closed at 21,067.05 for a loss of 320.98 points, and the Taiwan Index closed at 8,377.90 for a loss of 95.97 points.
Energy stocks in the large-cap, Dow Jones Industrial Average were the highlight for the day and lower oil prices continued to weigh on revenue and earnings. ExxonMobil (XOM, Financial) and Chevron (CVX, Financial) both reported first-quarter earnings on Friday with ExxonMobil’s stock gaining 0.34% and Chevron’s stock losing 0.28%.
ExxonMobil’s earnings beat analysts’ expectations for both revenue and earnings per share. Revenue was $48.71 billion, beating by $3.29 billion while still reporting a comparable quarter loss of 28.0%. EPS for the quarter was 43 cents, beating by 12 cents and reporting a comparable quarter loss of 63%. Chevron reported similar revenue results, but EPS was substantially below analysts’ expectations. Chevron reported first-quarter revenue of $23.56 billion, beating analysts’ expectations by $2.13 billion while reporting a comparable quarter revenue decrease of 31.8%. EPS for the quarter was -39 cents, down from $1.37 in the comparable quarter and missing analysts’ estimate by 19 cents.
In the broader U.S. market, stocks were also lower Friday. The Nasdaq Composite closed at 4,775.36 for a loss of 29.93 points or -0.62%. The small-cap Russell 2000 followed the day’s trend lower closing at 1,130.84, down 9.55 points or -0.84%. The small-cap S&P 600 was also lower closing at 694.56 for a loss of 3.83 points or -0.55%. In small-cap growth, the Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index closed at 6,965.78, down 63.69 points or -0.91%. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM closed at 8,162.50 for a loss of 35.87 points or -0.44%.
Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1,461.65, down -0.54%, the Russell 3000 at 1,217.37, down -0.53%, and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index closed for the day at 588.10 for a loss of 0.24 points or -0.04%.
In a CNBC closing bell discussion, market specialists discussed their insights on the market’s trading for the day.
