NYSE President Stacey Cunningham provides insight into record market highs, delisting China firms, and the IPO market.
U.S. equity markets slid Thursday as investors scrutinized both cautious comments from the Federal Reserve and a spike in the number of first-time jobless filings, which jumped back above 1 million.
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89 points, or 0.32%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.22%. The Nasdaq Composite reversed earlier losses to climb 0.18%
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 27608.72 | -84.16 | -0.30% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3365.72 | -9.13 | -0.27% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 11180.706668 | +34.25 | +0.31% |
The early weakness comes after the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting showed central bank policymakers are worried the absence of government aid could stall the economy’s comeback. The minutes sparked a late-day selloff on Wednesday that wiped out the major averages’ gains.
Looking at economic data, initial unemployment claims for the week ended Aug. 15 ticked up to 1.106 million from a revised 971,000. Continuing claims, meanwhile, fell to 14.844 million from 15.48 million. Wall Street analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting a total of 925,000 initial claims and 15 million continuing claims.
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Looking at stocks, American Airlines Inc. suspended flights to 15 cities in October as demand remains tepid during COVID-19.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAL | AMERICAN AIRLINES GROUP INC. | 12.31 | -0.37 | -2.92% |
| DAL | DELTA AIR LINES INC. | 27.18 | -0.49 | -1.77% |
| CVS | CVS HEALTH CORPORATION | 64.66 | -0.62 | -0.95% |
Rival Delta Air Lines Inc. announced a partnership with CVS Health Corp. for rapid COVID-19 tests.
Elsewhere, Apple Inc. shares remain in focus after the tech giant on Wednesday became the first U.S. company to reach a $2 trillion market capitalization. However, shares were unable to close above the $467.77 level needed to maintain it.
Looking at earnings, Alibaba Group’s core e-commerce business returned to pre-COVID-19 levels as its profit jumped 143% from a year ago.
Meanwhile, chipmaker Nvidia Corp. reported better-than-expected top- and bottom-line numbers, but an underwhelming performance from its data-center business left some investors unsatisfied.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 466.81 | +3.98 | +0.86% |
| BABA | ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD | 255.74 | -4.85 | -1.86% |
| NVDA | NVIDIA CORPORATION | 489.80 | +4.25 | +0.88% |
BJ’s Wholesale Club Inc. said quarterly profit surged 96% from last year as digitally-enabled sales spiked more than 300%.
L Brands reported a surprise profit as customers stocked up on soap and hand sanitizer from its Bath & Body Works unit. Sales at lingerie maker Victoria’s Secret plunged 39%.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BJ | BJS WHSL CLUB HLDGS INC | 43.24 | -0.16 | -0.37% |
| LB | L BRANDS INC. | 30.51 | +2.04 | +7.17% |
Looking at commodities, gold fell $31.60 to $1,938.70 an ounce and West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 94 cents to $41.99 per barrel.
U.S. Treasurys were modestly higher, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down by 2.9 basis points to 0.646%.
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In Europe, Britain’s FTSE paced the decline, down 1.24%, while France’s CAC and Germany’s DAX were weaker by 1.12% and 1.03%, respectively.
Asian markets were lower across the board as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.54%, China’s Shanghai Composite slid 1.3% and Japan’s Nikkei shed 1%.
