S&P 500 closes lower, gains for third straight week

The US stock indices mostly ended the week on a lower note, coinciding with the so-called "triple witching" day for this quarter. This event occurs when stock index futures and stock index options contracts expire at the same time, amid the expiration of many individual stock options.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was almost flat at 39,150 points, recording a weekly gain of 1.45%.

The S&P 500 index ended 0.15%, or eight points, lower at 5,464 points, posting a weekly rise of 0.6%. The index maintained its uptrend for the third consecutive week.

The Nasdaq Composite Index finished at17,689 points, losing 0.2%, or 32 points. The index ended a two-week winning streak.

Elsewhere, the STOXX Europe 600 Index fell by 0.75% to 515.1 points. It posted weekly gains of 0.8%.

FTSE 100 closed 0.4% down at 8,237 points. Germany’s DAX 40 Index also inched lower 0.5% to 18,163 points. Similarly, the CAC 40 Index closed 0.55% lower at 7,628 points.

The Nikkei 225 ended 0.1% down at 38,596 points, recording weekly losses of 0.55%. TOPIX stabilized at 1.70% to 2,724 points, but posted a weekly drop of 0.8%.

In the oil market, Brent crude futures for August delivery declined by 0.55%, or 47 cents, to $85.24 per barrel, but recorded a weekly rise of 3.15%.

Meanwhile, the price of US WTI crude for August delivery, the most active contracts, eased 0.7%, or 56 cents, to $80.73 per barrel. WTI posted a weekly gain of 3.45%.

For gold, futures prices for August delivery fell by 1.6%, or $37.8, to $2,331.2 per ounce, leading to a weekly loss of 0.75%.

Preliminary data from S&P Global revealed an increase in the Composite PMI to 54.6 points in June, up from 54.5 points the previous month, marking the highest level since April 2022.