Most of the stocks in the United States finished the week up on Friday after a released deal incited a sell-off between grocery firms and big retails. Disappointing data’s also weighed on the markets.
The S&P 500 rose slightly higher by 0.03 percent or 0.69 points to finish at 2,433.15. The Dow Jones industrial average was also higher on the day by 0.11 percent or 24 points to end at 21,384.28, with Wall-Mart contributing the most losses and Chevron as the main advancer. Meanwhile the NASDAQ composite fell more than 0.22 percent or 13.74 points to settle at 6,151.76.
American cloud computing and electronic commerce firm Amazon said on Friday that it was purchasing Whole Foods for $13.7 billion ($42 per share). This made the shares of amazon rise as much as 2.4 percent and Whole Foods by 29 percent. However Target, SuperValu, Kroger, Sprouts Farmers, Costco and Wall-Mart from Dow all immediately declined after the release of the news.
The agreement could indicated a long-term interruption of the business from the grocery industry by Amazon as the company continuously leverages its logistics, fulfillment infrastructure and technology according to CFRA analyst Tuna Amobi.
Investors are also analyzing through the unexpectedly lower figures on the same day as both housing starts and consumer sentiment data were surpassed by market predictions. Janney Montgomery Scott’s chief investment strategist Mark Luschini perceived that the movement is positive that made the market cooling.
Among the latest figures released on last Friday, housing starts and consumer sentiment disappointed the economist and investors the most. The Labor Department said the consumer prices index (CPI) marginally dropped by 0.1 percent last May.