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U.S. stock markets closed mixed on Thursday after a choppy session. Market participants digested a few mixed economic data. Earnings results were also mixed. The Dow ended in positive territory while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended in negative zone.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.2% to close at 39,935.07. In intraday trading, the blue-chip index was up 585 points. Notably, 15 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 15 in positive zone.
The major gainer of the blue-chip index was International Business Machines Corp. (IBM - Free Report) following its strong second-quarter earnings results which beat both the top and bottom-line estimates. Stock price of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) technology behemoth surged 4.3%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 17,181.72, sliding 0.9% or 160.69 points due to weak performance by technology behemoths. Sector rotations from overvalued technology stocks to rate-sensitive cyclical stocks continued on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 fell 0.5% to finish at 5,393.22. Seven out of the 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory, while four in positive zone. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) tanked 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively. On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) increased 1.7%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 2.3% to 18.46, reflecting its highest level in 14 weeks. A total of 13.23 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.60 billion.
Economic Data
The Department of Commerce reported that U.S. GDP growth rate jumped at 2.8% in second-quarter 2024, well above the consensus estimate of 1.9%. The GDP grew at 1.4% in the first quarter. Personal consumption expenditure (PCE), the largest component of the GDP, increased 2.3% in second-quarter compared with 1.5% in first-quarter. Personal spending increased for both goods and services.
PCE inflation in second-quarter came down to 2.6% from 3.4% in first-quarter. Core PCE inflation (excluding volatile food and energy items) cane in at 2.9% in second-quarter compared with 3.7% in first-quarter. The so-called chain-weighted price index, which takes into account changes in consumer behavior, increased 2.3% in the second quarter, below the consensus estimate of 2.6%.
The Department of Labor reported that initial claims decreased 10,000 to 235,000 for the week ended Jul 20, in line with the consensus estimate. Previous week’s data was revised upward by 2,000 to 245,000 from 243,000 reported earlier.
Continuing claims (those who have already received government aids and reported a week behind) decreased 9,000 to 1.851 million for the week ended Jul 13. The previous week's level was revised downward by 7,000 from 1.867 million to 1.86 million.
The Department of Commerce reported that durable goods orders unexpectedly plummeted by 6.6% in June, in contrast with the consensus estimate of an increase of 0.4%. The metric for May remained same at an increase of 0.1%.
However, core (non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft) capital goods orders - a closely watched proxy for business spending plan – increased 1% in June. The reading for May was a decline of 0.9%. Core capital goods shipments, which is the source of data for equipment investment in GDP, rose 0.1% in June after falling 0.7% in May. Despite strong GDP growth rate, weak durable goods data shows that the economy is cooling.
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Stock Market News for Jul 26, 2024
U.S. stock markets closed mixed on Thursday after a choppy session. Market participants digested a few mixed economic data. Earnings results were also mixed. The Dow ended in positive territory while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended in negative zone.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.2% to close at 39,935.07. In intraday trading, the blue-chip index was up 585 points. Notably, 15 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 15 in positive zone.
The major gainer of the blue-chip index was International Business Machines Corp. (IBM - Free Report) following its strong second-quarter earnings results which beat both the top and bottom-line estimates. Stock price of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) technology behemoth surged 4.3%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 17,181.72, sliding 0.9% or 160.69 points due to weak performance by technology behemoths. Sector rotations from overvalued technology stocks to rate-sensitive cyclical stocks continued on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 fell 0.5% to finish at 5,393.22. Seven out of the 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory, while four in positive zone. The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) tanked 1.1% and 1.2%, respectively. On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) increased 1.7%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 2.3% to 18.46, reflecting its highest level in 14 weeks. A total of 13.23 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 11.60 billion.
Economic Data
The Department of Commerce reported that U.S. GDP growth rate jumped at 2.8% in second-quarter 2024, well above the consensus estimate of 1.9%. The GDP grew at 1.4% in the first quarter. Personal consumption expenditure (PCE), the largest component of the GDP, increased 2.3% in second-quarter compared with 1.5% in first-quarter. Personal spending increased for both goods and services.
PCE inflation in second-quarter came down to 2.6% from 3.4% in first-quarter. Core PCE inflation (excluding volatile food and energy items) cane in at 2.9% in second-quarter compared with 3.7% in first-quarter. The so-called chain-weighted price index, which takes into account changes in consumer behavior, increased 2.3% in the second quarter, below the consensus estimate of 2.6%.
The Department of Labor reported that initial claims decreased 10,000 to 235,000 for the week ended Jul 20, in line with the consensus estimate. Previous week’s data was revised upward by 2,000 to 245,000 from 243,000 reported earlier.
Continuing claims (those who have already received government aids and reported a week behind) decreased 9,000 to 1.851 million for the week ended Jul 13. The previous week's level was revised downward by 7,000 from 1.867 million to 1.86 million.
The Department of Commerce reported that durable goods orders unexpectedly plummeted by 6.6% in June, in contrast with the consensus estimate of an increase of 0.4%. The metric for May remained same at an increase of 0.1%.
However, core (non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft) capital goods orders - a closely watched proxy for business spending plan – increased 1% in June. The reading for May was a decline of 0.9%. Core capital goods shipments, which is the source of data for equipment investment in GDP, rose 0.1% in June after falling 0.7% in May. Despite strong GDP growth rate, weak durable goods data shows that the economy is cooling.