US Markets at Close: Dow Snaps Winning Streak, S&P 500 and Nasdaq in Decline

 

US Markets LIVE, 20 Dec 2023: The US markets opened slightly lower on Wednesday, as investors preferred to book some profit after a solid multiweek rally the shares of FedEx tumbled due to a disappointing revenue outlook. 

The  Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) opened slightly lower by 37.79 points at 37520.13, while the S&P 500 index made a negative opening of 3.64 points and opened at 4764.73. The Nasdaq Composite index also opened marginally lower by 29.86 points at 14973.36.

 

US Markets Live Today

 

US markets at 11.10 a.m EDT, The US stock market indices mostly recovered their early losses. The Dow Jones is trading flat while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are trading slightly higher. Dow Jones is trading slightly lower by 5.14 points or 0.01 percent at the 37552.78 level while the S&P 500 is trading almost flat to positive by 3.81 points or 0.08 percent at 4772.18 levels. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite erased its early losses and traded higher by 45.46 points or 0.30 percent at 15048.69 levels. 

 

US Markets News

 

All three major US stock market indexes are heading for solid gains in December and 2023 amid growing optimism that the US Federal Reserve will start reducing interest rates in 2024. According to the Fed Rate Monitor Tool, there is now more than a 72% chance that the US Central Bank will cut 25 bps in March, and the rate has increased from 43% after last week’s Federal Reserve dovish policy.

Earlier this week Goldman Sachs, also raised its S&P 500 target for 2024 by 8% to 5100, which is approximately 300 points from Tuesday’s closing. This is mainly due to falling inflation and declining interest rates. The 10-year US Treasury yield slipped to 3.907% from its previous day’s close of 3.932%.

On the economic front, the latest CB Consumer Confidence data came higher in December than in November and above the economist’s expectations. The existing home sales came stronger than expected in November, compared to the previous month.

 

US Stocks in News

 

The shares of FedEx fell more than 10% after the packing delivery major posted disappointing revenue guidance for the fiscal year.  The company’s results for its fiscal second quarter also fell short of market expectations on both top and bottom lines.

The big technology stocks are trading higher Alphabet is gaining more than 3% despite the weakness in markets, as the company is planning to restructure its Advertise Sales Team ahead of the 2024 election. The other big tech stocks including, Nvidia, Amazon, Apple, and Meta, are also trading marginally higher.

The share of General Mills is down more than 3% after the company reported weak second-quarter revenue and said organic sales are down 2% despite strong pricing.

The tech stock Salesforce pared early losses and is trading slightly lower after Wells Fargo downgraded Salesforce to equal weight from overweight.

 

Crude Oil Prices

 

Crude oil prices are trading higher on Wednesday due to the unstable geopolitical situation in the Red Sea, while traders shrugged off the unexpected build in US Crude stockpiles.

The US WTI crude trades higher by 0.91 % at $74.59 per barrel, while London-based Brent crude oil is also higher by 0.78% at $79.84 per barrel.

 

Also, read –  US Markets Wrap-Up: Dow Jones Soars 252 Points, Nasdaq Closes Above 15,000

Stock Market Prediction Next Week ( 18- 22 Dec 2023)

 

US Markets at Close on 20 Dec

 

The US markets ended the volatile session with significant losses on Wednesday, as profit-taking emerged after the multi-week’s rally. The equity benchmarks pared intraday gains and fell sharply in the last hour of trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) snapped a nine-day winning streak, declined 475.92 points or 1.27%, and closed at 37082. The S&P 500 index was down 70.02 points or 1.47% and ended at 4698.35, while the Nasdaq Index fell sharply by 225.28 points or 1.50% and finished at 14777.94.

 

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