UKX FTSE 100 Index

By Sue Chang and Mark DeCambre, MarketWatch

Nvidia slumps as cryptocurrency mining sales fall

The S&P 500 index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose Friday, building on their gains from the previous session, but technology shares weighed on the Nasdaq, keeping the index in the red.

Lingering worries about Turkey's fiscal health and China's wobbly economy also kept stock-buying enthusiasm in check.

What are the main benchmarks doing?

The Dow industrials reversed early losses to rise 51 points, or 0.2%, at 25,610, while the S&P 500 index edged up less than a point higher to 2,841. The Nasdaq Composite shed 25 points, or 0.3%, to 7,781.

The iShares PHLX Semiconductor ETF (SOXX), a popular index that tracks semiconductor manufacturers, was down 1.2% on weakness in quarterly results from chip makers Nvidia Corp.(NVDA) and Applied Materials Inc.(AMAT)

On Thursday, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all rose with the blue-chip index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-point-to-gains-on-easing-geopolitical-concerns-cisco-results-2018-08-16) logging its best day since April.

The Dow and S&P 500 are on pace for weekly gains of 1.2% and 0.3%, respectively, while the Nasdaq is down 0.7%, hamstrung by week-to-date declines for Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Facebook Inc. (FB) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc. (AAPL) over the past five sessions.

What's driving markets?

Investors continue to monitor the latest developments on the trade front. On Thursday, there was cause for optimism as the U.S. and China prepared to resume trade talks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-says-it-will-resume-trade-talks-with-us-2018-08-16) next week. However, the new U.S. special representative for Iran said that the Trump administration was prepared to impose sanctions on all countries that buy oil from Iran (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-hints-china-could-face-sanctions-over-iranian-oil-imports-2018-08-16), a list that includes China.

Most recently, the Turkish lira was down about more than 4% against the U.S. dollar , with the buck buying 6.042 lira, compared with 5.8246 lira late Thursday in New York.

While geopolitical issues surrounding trade and Turkey will likely remain short-term market drivers, investors are also monitoring the final batch of second-quarter results, which are likely to offset some of the trouble from abroad.

What are strategists saying?

Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Wealth Advisors, described Friday's slump as a "cooling off" in a seasonally choppy period for equity markets, with investors following disappointing results from chip makers and a revealing newspaper interview with Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk.

"It's a little cooling off period after yesterday and obviously everyone is watching Elon Musk and some of the chip makers too," Ablin said.

"Stock markets had a strong finish yesterday over renewed hopes of a resolution to the trade spat between the U.S. and China," said David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets UK, in a note.

Which stocks are in focus?

Chip company Nvidia Corp.(NVDA) and chip manufacturer Applied Materials Inc.(AMAT) both reported earnings late Thursday. A decline in cryptocurrency-mining sales (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidia-stock-falls-as-crypto-mining-decline-overshadows-earnings-beat-2018-08-16) weighed on Nvidia, sending shares down 5.1%, while a weaker-than-expected guidance (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/applied-materials-stock-falls-after-earnings-beat-weak-guidance-2018-08-16) pushed Applied Materials shares down by 7.1%.

Nordstrom Inc.(JWN) soared 12% after the retailer posted better-than-expected earnings and raised its outlook (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/big-boost-in-internet-sales-help-nordstrom-beat-on-earnings-raise-outlook-2018-08-16).

The stock of farm-equipment maker Deere & Co.(DE) fell 3% after issuing a downbeat growth outlook (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/deeres-stock-drops-after-revenue-beat-downbeat-growth-outlook-2018-08-17).

Tesla Inc. (TSLA) shares slumped 8.3% after Chief Executive Elon Musk told the New York Times (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/teslas-elon-musk-describes-excruciating-year-says-worst-is-yet-to-come-2018-08-17) the past year had been "excruciating" and "the most difficult and painful" of his career.

DSW Inc. (DSW)shares sank (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dsw-shares-down-7-after-downgrade-on-margin-pressure-from-new-loyalty-program-2018-08-17) 5.4% it was downgraded to negative from neutral at Susquehanna Financial Group due to higher costs and margin pressure.

Which economic data are in the spotlight?

The University of Michigan said its consumer-sentiment index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-consumer-sentiment-drops-to-11-month-low-in-august-2018-08-17) in August fell to 95.3, down from 97.9 in July, the lowest level in 11 months. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a reading of 98.5.

Meanwhile, U.S. leading economic indicators jumped 0.6% in July.

Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

What did other markets do?

European stocks were mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-flat-but-on-track-for-third-straight-down-week-2018-08-17) and Asian markets all rose (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-shoot-higher-as-tech-stocks-rebound-2018-08-16) except China's Shanghai Composite Index which closed down 1.3%, ending the week down 4.5% and marking the lowest close in nearly two years.

Oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-higher-but-on-track-for-weekly-loss-on-supply-concerns-2018-08-17) were higher while gold traded mostly flat (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/weaker-gold-heads-for-3-weekly-drop-2018-08-17) and the U.S. dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-slips-against-g10-but-rallies-against-emerging-currencies-2018-08-17) fell 0.4%.

--Victor Reklaitis contributed to this report

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 17, 2018 13:16 ET (17:16 GMT)

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