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U.S. stock markets closed lower on Thursday after a choppy session. Market participants were mostly remained sidelined before the release of the key job data for September. Crude oil prices spiked following intensified geopolitical conflicts in the Middle-East. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was down 0.4% or 184.93 points to close at 42,011.59. Notably, 24 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 5 in positive zone and one remained unchanged.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 17,918.48, declining less than 0.1% due to weak performance by technology giants. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to finish at 5,699.94. Nine out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while two in positive zone.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Consumer Staple Select Sector SPDR (XLP), the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) declined 1.2%, 1%, 1.1% and 1%, respectively. On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) appreciated 1.8%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 8.4% to 20.49, marking its highest closing level since Sept. 6. A total of 11.01 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 12.08 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.13-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.99-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
Job Data in Focus
The Department of Labor will release the key nonfarm payrolls and other related data on Friday before the market opens. Market participants will keenly watch this data as this will give a hint about the Fed’s next move regarding interest rate.
The CME FedWatch tool currently shows a 100% probability of a 25-basis point interest rate cut in November. For December, market participants estimate a 100% probability that the total (year-to-date) rate cut will be 1% and a 63% probability that the total rate cut will be 1.25%.
Economic Data
The Department of Labor reported that initial claims increased by 6,000 to 225,000 for the week ended Sept. 28, higher than the consensus estimate of 220,000. Previous week’s data was revised upward by 1,000 to 219,000 from 218,000 reported earlier.
Continuing claims (those who have already received government aids and reported a week behind) decreased 1,000 to 1.826 million for the week ended Sept. 21. The previous week's level was revised downward by 7,000 from 1.834 million to 1.827 million.
The Institute of Supply Management reported that Services PMI in September came in at 54.9%, beating the consensus estimate of 51.5%. Previous month’s metric was also at 51.5%. Any reading above 50% indicates expansion of services activities.
The Business Activity Index registered 59.9% in September compared with 53.3% recorded in August, indicating a third month of expansion after a contraction in June. The New Orders Index expanded to 59.4% in September compared with August’s figure of 53%.
The Department of Commerce reported that factory orders for August dropped 0.2% compared with the consensus estimate of a break-even. The data for July was revised downward to 4.9% from 5% reported earlier.
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Stock Market News for Oct 4, 2024
U.S. stock markets closed lower on Thursday after a choppy session. Market participants were mostly remained sidelined before the release of the key job data for September. Crude oil prices spiked following intensified geopolitical conflicts in the Middle-East. All three major stock indexes ended in negative territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was down 0.4% or 184.93 points to close at 42,011.59. Notably, 24 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory while 5 in positive zone and one remained unchanged.
The major loser of the blue-chip index was Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK - Free Report) . The stock price of this pharmaceutical giant dropped 1.7%. Merck currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 17,918.48, declining less than 0.1% due to weak performance by technology giants. The S&P 500 fell 0.2% to finish at 5,699.94. Nine out of 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while two in positive zone.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY), the Consumer Staple Select Sector SPDR (XLP), the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE) declined 1.2%, 1%, 1.1% and 1%, respectively. On the other hand, the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) appreciated 1.8%.
The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 8.4% to 20.49, marking its highest closing level since Sept. 6. A total of 11.01 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 12.08 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.13-to-1 ratio. On Nasdaq, a 1.99-to-1 ratio favored declining issues.
Job Data in Focus
The Department of Labor will release the key nonfarm payrolls and other related data on Friday before the market opens. Market participants will keenly watch this data as this will give a hint about the Fed’s next move regarding interest rate.
The CME FedWatch tool currently shows a 100% probability of a 25-basis point interest rate cut in November. For December, market participants estimate a 100% probability that the total (year-to-date) rate cut will be 1% and a 63% probability that the total rate cut will be 1.25%.
Economic Data
The Department of Labor reported that initial claims increased by 6,000 to 225,000 for the week ended Sept. 28, higher than the consensus estimate of 220,000. Previous week’s data was revised upward by 1,000 to 219,000 from 218,000 reported earlier.
Continuing claims (those who have already received government aids and reported a week behind) decreased 1,000 to 1.826 million for the week ended Sept. 21. The previous week's level was revised downward by 7,000 from 1.834 million to 1.827 million.
The Institute of Supply Management reported that Services PMI in September came in at 54.9%, beating the consensus estimate of 51.5%. Previous month’s metric was also at 51.5%. Any reading above 50% indicates expansion of services activities.
The Business Activity Index registered 59.9% in September compared with 53.3% recorded in August, indicating a third month of expansion after a contraction in June. The New Orders Index expanded to 59.4% in September compared with August’s figure of 53%.
The Department of Commerce reported that factory orders for August dropped 0.2% compared with the consensus estimate of a break-even. The data for July was revised downward to 4.9% from 5% reported earlier.