Highlights
Equities ended mixed but mostly weaker Thursday as key big technology shares consolidated after their huge rallies. For the broader market, decliners outpaced advancers. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.8 percent, the S&P 500 dipped 0.3 percent, and the Nasdaq lost 0.8 percent. Bond yields and oil prices rose while the dollar fell.
The S&P 500 touched intra-day highs above 5,500 for the first time Thursday before fading to end below that level. Nvidia, now the world's most valuable company, fell back to end down 3.5 percent after rising more than 3 percent in the morning. The chipmaker, regarded as the artificial intelligence bellwether, is up 172 percent in the year to date. Apple was another notable drag on the major averages as it ended down 2.2 percent. Apple is up 10 percent in the last 30 days.
Computer hardware stocks joined semiconductors among the day's worst performers. Other laggards included homebuilders, autos, fast-food restaurants, real estate, and health and personal care. Best were pharma, parcels & logistics, casinos, big oil, insurance and metals. Gilead, the biotech, was a notable winner after positive clinical trial results.
Rising bond yields weighed a bit on stocks Thursday. Bond markets weakened largely in sympathy with selloffs in overseas markets and as traders focused on rising budget deficit estimates including Tuesday's gloomy Congressional Budget Office projection. Meanwhile, weaker than expected U.S. economic reports Thursday, including jobless claims, housing starts, and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing limited the rise in bond yields but added to the view that the economy and profits are slowing. Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it would take one or two years to get inflation back to the 2 percent target, another negative for risk assets.
The S&P 500 touched intra-day highs above 5,500 for the first time Thursday before fading to end below that level. Nvidia, now the world's most valuable company, fell back to end down 3.5 percent after rising more than 3 percent in the morning. The chipmaker, regarded as the artificial intelligence bellwether, is up 172 percent in the year to date. Apple was another notable drag on the major averages as it ended down 2.2 percent. Apple is up 10 percent in the last 30 days.
Computer hardware stocks joined semiconductors among the day's worst performers. Other laggards included homebuilders, autos, fast-food restaurants, real estate, and health and personal care. Best were pharma, parcels & logistics, casinos, big oil, insurance and metals. Gilead, the biotech, was a notable winner after positive clinical trial results.
Rising bond yields weighed a bit on stocks Thursday. Bond markets weakened largely in sympathy with selloffs in overseas markets and as traders focused on rising budget deficit estimates including Tuesday's gloomy Congressional Budget Office projection. Meanwhile, weaker than expected U.S. economic reports Thursday, including jobless claims, housing starts, and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing limited the rise in bond yields but added to the view that the economy and profits are slowing. Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it would take one or two years to get inflation back to the 2 percent target, another negative for risk assets.
Definition
Market Reflections track market reaction to the trading day's major events. Economic data, policymaker speeches, and company news are featured in this report as well as key indexes and financial instruments.
Description
Understanding why markets respond as they do is fundamental for an investor. Market Reflections help explain how the day's events, news, and data impact the outlook for the economy and for market prices.
