US Stock Markets Today: Dow Jones falls more than 100 points in midday trading; Apple bucks market trend, up $2/share
DJIA US Stock Market Index today: U.S. equity benchmarks lost little in Thursday’s session amid cautious trading as investors tracked incoming data on hopes that the Fed would continue to cut key lending rates ahead while a post-election rally, fueled by Donald Trump’s victory in the race to the White House, fizzled last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 113.8 points, or 0.3 percent, to 43,844.4, the S&P 500 lost 18.3 points, or 0.3 percent, to 5,967.1, and technology lost -Nasdaq Composite 7, 8. or 0.4 percent, to hit 19,151.9 on the lower side.
At 10:47 pm in India (12:17 pm in New York, USA), the DJIA index was down 130.1 points, or 0.3 percent, at 43,828.1. The S&P 500 was down 19.4 points, or 0.3 percent, at 5,966 while the Nasdaq Composite was down 55.5 points, or 0.3 percent, at 19,175.2.
US Unemployment Claims Data in Focus
Official data on jobless claims in the world’s largest economy, a key economic indicator closely followed by investors and analysts around the world, showed that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week. Initial jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 2,17,000 in the week ended November 9, according to the US Labor Department.
Investors are waiting for a key update of US stockpiles and a speech by Fed chief Thomas Barkin, which was due later in the day, for signals.
ALSO READ: Dalal Street Watch | Big data, earnings, FII activity, other things to follow
Dow Jones Index: The biggest gainers and losers
Industrials, telecommunications, health, consumer discretionary and physical stocks faced selling pressure, although gains in consumer discretionary stocks provided some support for the US stock market.
About 18 regions in the 30-sector DJIA index succumbed to the negative environment, with Cisco (down 2.5 percent), Salesforce (down 2.2 percent), IBM (down 1.8 percent), Boeing (down 1.7 percent) and Amgen (down 1.5 percent) were worst performers.
On the other hand, Walt Disney, Chevron, 3M, Apple and Nvidia, trading between 0.8 percent and 6.8 percent higher, were the top gainers in the Dow basket.
Apple shares gained about $2.1, or 0.9 percent, to $227.1 apiece, and ended trading at $226.9 apiece.
Fed Rate Cut
This month, the Fed cut benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points, as widely expected, citing a strong pace of economic activity and inflation that continues to move toward the US central bank’s 2 percent target.
The Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC), the US central bank’s rate-setting panel, unanimously decided to cut key rates by 25 bps.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the 2024 US presidential election, in which Republican Donald Trump won the race to the White House, will not affect its policy decisions in the near future.
Get all the latest stock market updates here. For all other news in trending sectors from technology and automobiles to personal finance, visit Zeebiz.com.
