In the latest session, benchmark equity indexes in the United States exhibited a mixed performance as investors analyzed the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation indicators. The Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.3%, reaching 17,574.6, while the S&P 500 edged up 0.2% to 5,602.4. Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average faced a slight dip, decreasing by 0.2% to settle at 41,226.3.
Within the market sectors, consumer discretionary stocks emerged as the leading gainers, while the energy sector experienced the most significant drop during the trading day. From an economic perspective, recent government data indicated that US consumer spending aligned with market expectations for July.
Notably, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure surprisingly remained steady at the annual level. BMO observed in a note to clients, "This personal income and spending report was just what the Fed needed to see to further its confidence to start reducing interest rates. Tame headline and core price readings, coupled with slowing real disposable income growth, should help keep inflation and consumer spending in check, even as the Fed commences to ease its monetary restrictions." In a more positive vein, the US consumer sentiment index for August showed improvement for the first time in five months, with expectations for inflation over the coming year continuing to decrease, according to final results from the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers. On the bond market front, the US 10-year yield saw an increase of 3.8 basis points, reaching 3.91%, while the two-year rate also rose by 2.8 basis points to settle at 3.92% during the trading day. Turning to company-specific news, shares of Intel ($INTC) soared by 7.6%, positioning it as the leading gainer on both the S&P 500 and the Dow, and it stood out as one of the top performers on the Nasdaq.
The chip manufacturing giant is reportedly collaborating with investment banking firms Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as it navigates various challenges, according to Bloomberg News, which cited unnamed sources. Additionally, Intel announced a partnership with International Business Machines ($IBM) on Thursday to deploy the chipmaker's Gaudi 3 artificial intelligence accelerators on the IBM Cloud platform.
As of Friday midday, IBM shares reflected a modest increase of 0.5%. MongoDB ($MDB) recorded impressive performance, emerging as the best performer on the Nasdaq with a remarkable surge of nearly 17%. This uptick followed the company's upwards revision of its full-year outlook after reporting better-than-expected fiscal second-quarter results and favorable consumption trends, as highlighted by RBC Capital Markets in a client note. In contrast, Ulta Beauty ($ULTA) experienced the most significant decline on the S&P 500, as its shares tumbled by 4.2%.
The cosmetic retailer reported earnings and comparable sales for its fiscal second quarter that fell short of expectations and subsequently downgraded its future forecast. Analysts at Evercore ISI suggested these developments are likely to exert downward pressure on the company's stock price in the near term. On the commodities front, West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices dropped 2.9%, settling at $73.72 a barrel.
In precious metals, gold prices fell by 1.2%, priced at $2,529.30 per troy ounce, while silver saw a decline of 2.9%, trading at $29.12 per ounce. Market participants continue to closely monitor economic indicators and corporate earnings as they navigate these fluctuating market conditions..