US close: Stocks erase early gains as geopolitical uncertainty hits sentiment

(Sharecast News) - US stocks gave up earlier gains on Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq falling firmly into the red, amid ongoing uncertainty regarding America's potential involvement in the Middle East conflict.

Traders were returning to their desks following the Juneteenth national holiday on Thursday, playing catchup with European markets which fell the previous session as Israel and Iran continued to exchange airstrikes.

The Dow finished 0.1% higher, rebounding after hitting a three-week low on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 0.2% and 0.5%, respectively.

Comments from Fed governor Christopher Waller had spurred a brief rally as Wall Street opened, after he said the Fed should "look through" one-off inflationary pressures from trade tariffs and focus on the fact that underlying inflation has slowed. "We should be basing policy based on the data," Waller said in a CNBC interview. "I think we've got room to bring it down, and then we can kind of see what happens with inflation."

However, the focus was firmly on the Middle East after US president Donald Trump announced that he would make a decision on US involvement within two weeks.

The White House said the deadline was "based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take". Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "If there's a chance for diplomacy, the president is always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength."

"Although the immediate chances of US intervention in Iran may have lessened, the news of this two-week pause indicates it will continue to be a pressing topic for the markets in the week ahead," said Patrick Munnelly, partner of market strategy at Tickmill Group.

WTI crude was down 0.2% at $75 a barrel.

In economic data, the current general activity index from Philly Fed's Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey remained unchanged at -4.0 this month, pointing to a weakening of activity for the third straight month. The consensus estimate was for a slight improvement to -1.0. While 25% of firms saw increases in general activity, up from 19% in May, 28% reported decreases compared with 23% previously.

Market movers

Shares in American building products distributor GMS surged 24% on Friday, extending recent gains on reports that Home Depot will enter the bidding war for the company. According to the Wall Street Journal, Home Depot has made an offer for GMS, just two days after its larger peer QXO proposed taking the company over for $5bn. However, the retail chain has yet to release a statement.

Accenture dropped 7% despite robust third-quarter earnings, after bookings at the professional services firm disappointed. The company even raised its revenue guidance for the full year, though investors focused on a 6% year-on-year fall in new bookings.

Grocery giant Kroger jumped 10% after raising its full-year sales outlook as first-quarter numbers beat expectations. Chief executive Ron Sargent said Kroger's "solid" first-quarter numbers had benefited from strong sales in pharmacy, ecommerce and fresh.

Amazon slipped after the news that the UK's Groceries Code Adjudicator has opened a formal investigation over concerns that the retail giant may have breached rules requiring timely payments to suppliers.

Electric car giant Tesla edged higher ahead of this weekend's highly anticipated launch of its robotaxi service.

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $201.00 2.25%

Walmart Inc. (WMT) $96.08 1.08%

3M Co. (MMM) $144.03 1.07%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $149.55 0.92%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $640.80 0.88%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $349.62 0.75%

American Express Co. (AXP) $298.59 0.73%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $66.32 0.73%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $158.79 0.67%

Boeing Co. (BA) $198.75 0.54%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $27.75 -2.60%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.08 -1.91%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $302.01 -1.69%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $280.51 -0.79%

McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $287.46 -0.75%

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.31 -0.70%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $149.79 -0.62%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $477.40 -0.59%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $68.84 -0.53%

Visa Inc. (V) $338.57 -0.53%

S&P 500 - Risers

Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $7.03 13.94%

Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $6.59 12.46%

Kroger Co. (KR) $71.97 9.84%

Carmax Inc. (KMX) $68.57 6.59%

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $68.31 2.95%

Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $106.30 2.91%

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $18.86 2.56%

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $54.04 2.48%

D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $124.20 2.41%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $386.37 2.37%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Accenture Plc (ACN) $285.37 -6.86%

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $75.47 -4.64%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $56.66 -4.61%

Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $86.25 -4.42%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $166.64 -3.85%

Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $14.24 -3.66%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $167.73 -3.59%

Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $762.73 -2.84%

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) $205.17 -2.70%

Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $40.29 -2.49%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $68.31 2.95%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $386.37 2.37%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $201.00 2.25%

Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $70.05 2.16%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $88.49 1.82%

Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $10.14 1.71%

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $10.20 1.59%

O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $89.69 1.55%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $164.85 1.47%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $123.60 1.46%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $75.47 -4.64%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $166.64 -3.85%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $167.73 -3.59%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $31.44 -3.26%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $850.00 -2.43%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $169.46 -1.96%

Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $682.35 -1.93%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.08 -1.91%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $90.49 -1.90%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $440.87 -1.68%