DJIA Today: Dow Jones Futures Fail to Rise for Fourth Straight Session

New York (June 25)  The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended flat on Friday, as broad gains in technology were offset by sliding consumer and financial shares.

The blue-chip index closed at 21,394.76, where it was virtually unchanged compared to the previous close. The Dow traded within a 90-point range during the day.

Eighteen of 30 blue-chip stocks finished in positive territory, led by a 1.7% gain for Visa Inc. (NYSE: V). The Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) was also among the strongest performers, adding 1.4%. Shares of Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) rose by a similar amount.

Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) and Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) rounded out the top-five with gains of 0.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

On the opposite side of the ledger, The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) fell 2.7%. Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) declined 1.2% and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) finished 0.9% lower.

The Dow confounded the general uptrend in the market on Friday, as the broader S&P 500 Index gained 0.2% to close at 2,438.30. The technology-driven Nasdaq Composite Index also added 0.5% to finish at 6,265.25.

In economic data, U.S. new home sales rebounded last month, although the pace of expansion was slower than expected. New home sales increased 2.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, the Commerce Department said. That followed a 7.9% decrease the previous month.

Meanwhile, manufacturing output weakened unexpectedly at the end of the second quarter, raising fresh worries about the health of the economy. The IHS Markit flash U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dipped to 52.1 in June from 52.7, on a scale where 50 separates expansion from contraction.

Source: EconomicCalendar