STOCKS weekly review (24.06 – 28.06.2013) USA

U.S. stocks closed higher last week, despite Friday’s decline amid comments from Federal Reserve Governor Jeremy Stein.

U.S. stocks rose during the second quarter, but ended June with losses as investors started to come to terms with the potential slowdown in the Federal Reserve’s monetary stimulus program.

For the second quarter, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.3%, the S&P 500 gained 2.4% and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 4.2%.

The S&P 500 ended at 1,606.28, leaving it up 0.89% for the week and down 1.5% in June.  

The Dow closed at 14,909.60, leaving it up 0.77% for the week and down 1.4% in June. The Dow is now up 13.8% for the year-to-date, marking its best first half of a year performance in since 1999.

Tech NASDAQ Composite finished last week at 3,403.25, up 1.38% for the week.

In recent weeks, investors have been preoccupied with when the Fed may start pulling back monetary stimulus as the economy improves further.

Early Friday, Federal Reserve Gov. Jeremy Stein suggested the central bank’s first tapering move could come in September, although he only used the month as a hypothetical start date in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker said he expects the U.S. expansion to remain “sluggish” for “a couple more years,” and today’s downward revision to first-quarter growth is in line with his outlook. Lacker said he sees growth of about 2.25% next year.

John Williams, president of the San Francisco Fed Bank, said it’s better to “wait a bit” before tapering asset purchases.

Their comments follow relatively soothing Fed speeches on Thursday in which three officials chastised markets for overreacting to the central bank’s statement last week.

U.S. stocks jumped Wednesday after a revision in economic growth calmed concern about U.S. monetary policy. Gross domestic product expanded 1.8% from January through March, down from an earlier estimate of 2.4%, the Commerce Department reported.

Investors last week also took in a June reading for the Chicago purchasing managers' index, which was a lower-than-expected 51.6, as well as a better-than-anticipated University of Michigan/Thomson Reuters consumer sentiment figure. The final June sentiment number was 84.1, beating forecasts for 83 but down from May’s final reading of 84.5.

On the earnings front Friday, BlackBerry dived 28% after its disappointing quarterly earnings report before the open on Friday. Macquarie Capital downgraded the stock to an underperform rating following the results.

Accenture PLC slid more than 10% after the tech-services firm lowered its full-year revenue outlook. The outlook was given as part of the company’s fiscal third-quarter report issued on Thursday afternoon.

Shares of Noodles & Co. soared 104.17% in their trading debut on Friday.

Apple shares rose 2.6% for the week. Pacific Crest wrote in a note to clients that “stable retention rates and cost reduction should stabilize iPhone profits” for the company.

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