4:05pm: In positive territory
US stocks finished Friday’s trading session modestly higher following a slew of positive economic indicators this week.
The Nasdaq added 0.2% at 17,631 points, the Dow Jones was up 0.2% at 40,659 points and the S&P 500 added 0.2% at 5,554 points.
2:40pm: Rivian falls
Rivian Automotive shares fell after the EV automaker said it has temporarily halted the production of its electric delivery vans for Amazon due to a parts shortage, adding to the supply chain challenges the company has faced.
By midafternoon shares of Rivian had lost over 4% in New York.
The company has encountered several production challenges, including a factory shutdown in April for retooling.
12:30pm: Retail leads gains
Stocks were slightly ahead after the midday point of trading Friday.
The Nasdaq led the gains with 0.3%, while the S&P 500 had added 0.2% and the Dow 0.1%.
Retail stocks were performing well in the wake of Walmart's positive earnings this week, with Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA), Tapestry Inc (NYSE:TPR) and Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) all trading higher on Friday afternoon.
11:25am: Kamala Harris to unveil economic plan
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will outline her economic agenda during a speech in North Carolina on Friday, which features bold proposals tackling key issues including rising housing, grocery and medical costs.
Harris will propose cutting taxes and homebuying incentives such as a $25,000 subsidy for first-home buyers and the construction of 3 million new housing units to address the supply shortage, campaign officials said.
A ban on “price gouging” by grocers is another key feature, with her proposal allowing the Federal Trade Commission to investigate abuses and impose penalties.
Other proposals reportedly include the elimination of medical debt for some Americans, a cap on prescription drug costs of $2,000 for all Americans not just seniors, and a child tax credit that would provide families with $6,000 per child for the first year of their life.
11:10am: Housing starts fall to the weakest since the pandemic
Residential construction was weaker than expected in July, Bill Adams, Chief Economist for Comerica Bank noted, with housing starts falling to the lowest since the 2020 lockdown.
"July’s homebuilding data was considerably weaker than expected, but the third quarter will likely be somewhat better than this ugly monthly print," Adams commented.
"Homebuilding will likely be a drag on third quarter real GDP growth, but should return to growth in the following quarters as the Fed starts reducing interest rates."
9.52am: Wall Street starts lower on weak housing data
Wall Street faced a negative start to the day on Friday, as stocks fell on the back of poor housing data.
The Dow Jones shed 54 points after the opening bell, as the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ticked 35 and 11 points lower respectively.
This was as figures showed the number of new housing construction projects fell by 6.8% over the course of July to 1.238 million, or by 16% on an annual basis.
Applications for new builds also dipped, falling by 4% compared to June and by 7% against a year earlier to 1.396 million.
The data threatens to dampen sentiment on the US economy, which had taken a knock earlier this month after a weak jobs report.
Global stocks spiralled on the back of the report, which prompted fears of recession in the world’s largest economy, with indexes in the US taking until Thursday to fully recover.
7.58am: Stocks seen off the mark
US stocks are in line for a largely flat start on Friday, after strong retail sales and unemployment data fuelled a rally on Thursday.
Futures had the Dow Jones just below the mark, alongside the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq ahead of the bell.
Data on Thursday showed retail sales in the world's largest economy rose by 2.7% year-on-year, smashing estimates for 1.8%, while weekly jobless claims came in lower than estimates.
This prompted the three indexes to soar and finally fully recover from a sell-off earlier in the month on poor jobs data.
“Improved sentiment stemming from lesser concerns of a global recession has driven investors back into the stock market after last week’s meltdown,” Capital.com analyst Daniela Sabin Hathorn commented.
Further gains should come over the coming days as “sentiment continues to improve,” she added.