US Markets : Dow and Nasdaq Slip on Record Yields & Powell’s Speech Concerns
US Markets LIVE, 19 Oct 2023:The US stock market indexes opened slightly higher on Thursday ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s speech, while Tesla declined and Netflix surged after the quarterly results.
Dow Jones opened slightly higher by 4.44 points at the 33669.52 level, while the S&P 500 made a positive opening of 6.76 points at the 4321.36 level. The Nasdaq Composite index opened marginally higher by 40.5 points at the 13354.80 level.
US Markets Live Today
At 11.45 a.m. EDT, The US markets are trading near their flatline just ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Speech. Dow Jones is trading slightly higher by 9.68 points or 0.03 percent at the 33674.76 level while the S&P 500 is trading almost flat, up by 1.11 points or 0.03 percent at 4315.71 levels. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite erased its early gains and is trading slightly lower by 8.63 points or 0.06 percent at 13305.67 levels.
US Market News
The US stock markets turned negative in the early morning deal as the Treasury yields rose to record levels. The 10-year Treasury yield after hitting a day high at 4.985% is now settled near 4.942%, the yield was closed at 4.902% in the previous session.
Fed Chair Powell is set to speak at the Economic Club of New York at 12 pm ET. Investors remain nervous that he may strike a hawkish tone, as the recent economic data showed strength and the inflation reading was slightly above expectation.
After a dovish tone from several Fed officials, another pause in rate hikes for November is almost fully priced in, and investors are worried about a December rate hike now.
The weekly jobless claim data showed that the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell below 200,000 to a nine-month low last week. This points to strong job growth according to the Labor Department data.
US Stocks in News
On the earning front, the Electric Vehicle maker Tesla slipped more than 8% as the company missed analyst expectations on earnings and revenue in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Netflix gained more than 15% after the streaming company beat estimates in the third quarterly earnings. Both Tesla and Netflix reported their quarterly results on Wednesday after the closing bell.
The telecommunication company AT&T gained more than 6% after beating expectations for the third quarterly earnings. The investment firm Blackstone slipped more than 6% due to weaker-than-expected quarterly results.
The shares of the fitness interactive platform Peloton recovered early losses and traded above the flatline. The stock was downgraded to underperform by Bank of America due to declining member engagement.
The share price of American Airlines gained around 5% as the earnings per share beat estimates and revenue was almost in line with the expectation. The company has trimmed its profit forecast for the year, mainly due to higher fuel costs.
Crude Oil Prices
Crude oil prices are trading steady on Thursday after sharp gains in the previous session. Traders are looking ahead for more developments from the Middle East conflicts and the outlook for the global supply.
The US WTI crude is trading higher by 0.36% at $87.58 per barrel while London-based Brent crude oil is slightly higher by 0.07% at $91.56 per barrel.
US Markets at Close
The US stock market indexes closed lower on Thursday due to a surge in Treasury yields at a record high level and after the speech from Federal Reserves Chair Jerome Powell. Powell in his speech said that inflation is still too high above 2% and would likely require lower economic growth. He further said the Fed is “proceeding carefully” on future rate hikes due to a spike in Treasury yields that have helped tighten financial conditions “significantly”.
Dow Jones fell 250 points or 0.75% and ended at 33414.17, while S&P 500 declined 36.60 points or 0.85% and closed at 4278. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also fell 128.13 points or 0.96 percent and settled at 13186.18 on Thursday.
Also, read US Futures: Dow & Nasdaq Futures Edge Down Ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s Address
Trade Setup for Thursday 19 October 2023: Stock Market Today
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