U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday as investors awaited more solid evidence towards a U.S. and China trade deal. Though all three major averages took a fall, November is the best month since June in terms of growth. The S&P 500 gained 3.4%, and the Dow Jones posted 3.7% and Nasdaq grew 4.5%.
Here's how the stock market closed for the last trading session in November:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
The consumer was in focused today in U.S. markets as the holiday season officially kicked off with Black Friday sales. According to Adobe Analytics, shoppers are expected to spend a total of $7.5 billion on Friday and $9.4 billion on Monday, with most of those sales taking place on e-commerce platforms.
In World News, President Donald Trump signed two bills into law on Wednesday that are in support of the democracy protests in Hong Kong. This is a move that has upset China, with the nation's foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang stating: "This act neglects facts and truth, applies double standards and blatantly interferes in Hong Kong affairs and China's other internal affairs. It is in serious violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations. China condemns and firmly opposes it." This bill is looked at as something that may prolong the ever-present trade war between the two world super powers.
In Stock Sector News, all eleven sectors experienced share losses today. Those losses were as follows: Energy -1.01%, Consumer Discretionary -0.77%, Industrials -0.54%, Materials -0.46%, Real Estate -0.44%, Communication Services -0.36%, Health Care -0.35%, Information Technology -0.34%, Financials -0.21%, Consumer Staples -0.14% and Utilities -0.14%.
Finally, in Commodity and Currency News, oil prices took a steep dive during trading today. West Texas Intermediate posted barrel price losses of almost -5% and Brent Crude was not too far behind with a loss of over -2%. Despite the slump, oil prices are still set for a monthly hike ahead of the coming OPEC+ meeting. Natural gas prices also took a substantial hit, with the Henry Hub Index reading an almost -8% decline in prices. Gold almost experienced some decline for the end of the month, with prices dipping around -0.25%. Lastly, the U.S. Dollar was not spared from share drops today, with the DXY Index reading a drop of over -0.05% as November trading comes to a close.
