© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The New York Stock Exchange is pictured in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo
By Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal
(Reuters) – Wall Street’s main indexes were set to open higher on Friday, with investors piling on economically sensitive energy, banks and travel stocks as data showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in June.
The Commerce Department said retail sales rebounded 0.6% last month, as spending is shifting back to services, bolstering expectations that economic growth accelerated in the second quarter.
Markets have largely cheered a steady recovery in the labor market this year, but concerns about higher inflation due to a faster-than-expected rebound has hurt sentiment, with investors oscillating between “value” and tech-heavy “growth” names in the past few sessions.
“We got a lot of optimism for the earnings, but then you’ve got fear of inflation and that’s kind of giving us a whipsaw market,” said Dennis Dick, a proprietary trader at Bright Trading LLC.
“The tech earnings starting next week can make the market forget about those fears (inflation).”
Rate-sensitive lenders Citigroup Inc (NYSE:), JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:) and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:) rose between 0.7% and 0.9%, tracking a rise in benchmark . [US/]
Oil stocks Chevron Corp (NYSE:), Diamondback (NASDAQ:) Energy Inc, Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:), Halliburton (NYSE:) Co, Schlumberger NV (NYSE:) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (NYSE:) gained between 0.5% and 1.1%.
However, the S&P 500 energy sector index has declined 5% so far this week and is the top loser among the 11 major sectors, followed by consumer discretionary and materials.
Graphic: Energy weekly decline: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/ygdpzzxlbpw/energy%20weekly.png
On the other hand, defensives utilities, real estate and consumer staples were the top gaining sectors, as a spike in coronavirus cases, led by the new Delta variant across the globe, reignited worries about a delay in the economic recovery.
Los Angeles County will reimpose its mask mandate this weekend in the latest sign that public health officials are struggling with a rise in cases to worrisome levels in many parts of the United States.
At 8:57 a.m. ET, were up 75 points, or 0.22%, were up 12.5 points, or 0.29%, and were up 54.25 points, or 0.37%.
Moderna (NASDAQ:) Inc jumped 7.5% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the drugmaker will join the as of the start of trading on July 21, replacing Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:).
Shares of Alexion edged 0.3% lower.
Didi Global Inc fell 5.2% as China sent state officials from at least seven departments to the ride-hailing giant for a cybersecurity review.
Intel Corp (NASDAQ:) added 0.2% after a media report the chipmaker is in talks to buy semiconductor manufacturer GlobalFoundries Inc for about $30 billion.
Graphic: Weekly performance July 16: https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/rlgpdrdzypo/MicrosoftTeams-image%20(18).png
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