The forty-fifth trading week of 2014 comes to a close with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones slightly higher, and the NASDAQ composite lower in early-afternoon trading on Friday.
Most actively traded stocks include Genworth Financial (NYSE:GNW) lower by 8%, Zynga (ZNGA) up 5.3%, Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) higher by 2.6%, and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) down 0.2%.
Hi. I'm Kristin Bianco. Welcome to the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for November 7, 2014.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 are higher for the week and the Nasdaq Composite is just about flat for the period.
Crude oil futures are lower this week, trading at $78.90 per barrel on Friday afternoon.
And Gold futures are also lower this week, trading at $1167.88 an ounce this afternoon.
In economic news, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department of Commerce, announced that total September exports of $195.6 billion and imports of $238.6 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $43.0 billion, up from $40.0 billion in August, revised. September exports were $3.0 billion less than August exports of $198.6 billion. September imports were $0.1 billion more than August imports of $238.6 billion.
In September, the goods deficit increased $2.4 billion from August to $62.7 billion, and the services surplus decreased $0.6 billion from August to $19.6 billion. Exports of goods decreased $2.6 billion to $136.1 billion, and imports of goods decreased $0.1 billion to $198.7 billion. Exports of services decreased $0.4 billion to $59.5 billion, and imports of services increased $0.2 billion to $39.9 billion.
The goods and services deficit increased $0.8 billion from September 2013 to September 2014. Exports were up $5.3 billion, or 2.8 percent, and imports were up $6.1 billion, or 2.6 percent.
In the week ending November 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 278,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 287,000 to 288,000. The 4-week moving average was 279,000, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since April 29, 2000 when it was 273,000. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 281,000 to 281,250.
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 214,000 in October, and the unemployment rate edged down to 5.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Employment increased in food services and drinking places, retail trade, and health care.
In corporate dividend news, Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) declared an increase in the Company's quarterly dividend to $0.13 per share from $0.12 per share, representing an annual return to shareholders of approximately $188 million. The next dividend is payable on January 27, 2015 to shareholders of record as of January 16, 2015.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) declared a cash dividend of 24.0 cents per share on the company's common stock payable Dec. 11, 2014, to Stockholders of record Nov. 20, 2014.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) declared a cash dividend for the quarter ending Jan. 2, 2015, of $0.40 per share of common stock. The cash dividend will be paid on Jan. 15, 2015, to the company's stockholders of record as of Jan. 2, 2015.
American International Group (NYSE:AIG) declared a dividend of $0.125 per share on AIG common stock, par value $2.50 per share. The dividend is payable on December 18, 2014, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 4, 2014.
And, Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW) declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.485 per share. The dividend equates to $1.94 per share on a full-year basis. The dividend will be paid on January 6, 2015 to shareholders of record as of December 31, 2014.
This is the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for Friday, November 7, 2014. Please join us on Monday for the Week Ahead Market Report.
For MarketNewsVideo.com, I'm Kristin Bianco.
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