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The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday was being pressured by sharp drops in components J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Declines in the shares of Goldman and J.P. Morgan were taxing the price-weighted Dow by nearly 40 points, with the lion’s share of pressure coming from Goldman’s share decline. The weakness in the banking sector came after J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Co. , Citigroup Inc. and PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reported second-quarter results that mostly beat Wall Street expectations but bank officials pointed to weakness in areas including trading of bonds and stocks. Still, the Dow was managing to trade flat, as gains in Boeing Co. helped to offset some of the pressure from the banks.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened flat on Friday as investors digested a mixed batch of quarterly earnings out of a trio of major banks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 14 points, or 0.1%, to 21,536. The S&P 500 was up by less than 1 point to 2,448. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 13 points, or 0.2%, to 6,286. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. , Citigroup Inc. , and Wells Fargo & Co. all posted results on Friday, with the three topping expectations, although Citigroup’s results also indicated a slowdown in trading revenue. Shares of J.P. Morgan fell 2.6% while Citigroup lost 1.6% and Wells shed 2.4%. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF was down 1.5%. For the week, the Dow is up 0.6% while the S&P is up 1% and the Nasdaq is up about 2.2%. In the latest economic data, the consumer price index was unchanged in June, while retail sales fell 0.2%.

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The gain in Boeing Co.’s stock in premarket trade Friday after an analyst upgrade would add more to the price of the Dow Jones Industrial Average than the selloff in J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. shares would erase. Boeing’s stock rose $1.77, or 0.9%, ahead of the open, after J.P. Morgan upgraded the aerospace giant to overweight from neutral. The stock’s price gain would add about 12.1 points to the price of the Dow. Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan Chase’s stock slumped $1.50, or 1.6%, after the banking giant beat second-quarter profit and revenue expectations, but missed on net interest income and as trading revenue declined. That would shave about 10.3 points off the Dow. E-mini Dow futures were up 3 points in recent trade.

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Ulta Beauty Inc. shares are up 3% in Friday premarket trading after the company was upgraded to buy from neutral at Goldman Sachs. The price target was cut to $310 from $321. Analysts say they’re “positive” after a recent sell-off and same-store sales growth that they call “sector-leading.” Moreover, Goldman thinks the company won’t be impacted by Amazon.com Inc. “We do not believe price competition will derail Ulta’s core value proposition, or that Amazon yet offers a compelling alternative to the consumer,” the note said. With a focus on convenient locations, an assortment that mixes mass and prestige items, and service rather than price, Goldman analysts “expect continued share gains, reflecting incremental sales captured from department stores, upside from the rollout of new brands and boutiques, and growth in Ulta’s membership program, also a powerful source of valuable data.” Ulta shares are up 1% for the year so far, while the S&P 500 index is up 9.3% for the period.

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J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s outspoken CEO Jamie Dimon said the U.S. economy is being held in check by a lack of policy momentum in Washington D.C. that has failed to deliver a spate of pro-growth legislation that could help to boost an otherwise sluggish economy. “We have to focus on policy that is good for all Americans,” Dimon said speaking Friday morning on a call with reportrs to discuss second-quarter earnings. Dimon said the inability to make headway on legislation is “holding us back and it is hurting the average American,” he said. “It isn’t a Republican issue, it is not a Democratic issue,” he said. Dimon said U.S. gross domestic product has been accelerating at an annual rate of about 1.5% to 2% and said “bad policies” are to blame for this pace that is considered muted for an economy that is in the ninth year of recovering from a financial crisis. Dimon said continued gridlock may not further weigh on growth but said better policies could deliver a jolt higher to the economy. “We need infrastructure reform, we need regulatory reform.” He declined to say whether President Donald Trump’s administration was moving fast enough on those issues and called out the media for failing to call cover those issues. Shares of J.P. Morgan were trading 1.6% lower despite reporting second-quarter results that beat expectations, as investors focused on a trading slowdown. So far this year, J.P. Morgan’s stock has gained 7.9%, while the S&P 500 index has risen 9.3% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.1% over the same period.

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Harmonic Inc. slashed its outlook for second-quarter results, as an acceleration in its over-the-top software-as-a-service (OTT SaaS) business weighed on results. The video delivery infrastructure company said it now expects an adjusted per-share loss in the range of 21 cents to 19 cents, compared with a previous outlook provided in May of a per-share loss of 4 cents to breakeven. Revenue is now expected to be $80.0 million to $82.0 million, down from previous guidance of $94.5 million to $102.5 million. The FactSet consensus was for a per-share loss of 2 cents and revenue of $98.3 million. “Market demand for video infrastructure delivered through software subscription and cloud services is accelerating,” said Chief Executive Patrick Harshman. “While this improvement in OTT SaaS activity reduced revenue and profitability for the quarter, we believe it will establish a trajectory for more predictable future financial performance in our Video segment.” The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has shed 6.4% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.1%.

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A teenager has been arrested after a string of acid attacks in east London late Thursday that left one person with “life-changing” injuries, the BBC reported. Among the attacks, a 32-year old man on a moped was approached by two men in Hackney, and his moped stolen after they threw a corrosive substance in his face. Other attacks were reported in Stoke Newington, Islington and Clapham.

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