Stock market news live updates: Stocks mixed, Dow heads for back-to-back day of losses – Yahoo Finance
Stocks traded mixed on Thursday as investors weighed a batch of solid corporate earnings results against lingering inflation concerns.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were higher intraday in a choppy session. Despite some volatility this week, the S&P 500 remained higher by 1.8% for Novemb…….
Stocks traded mixed on Thursday as investors weighed a batch of solid corporate earnings results against lingering inflation concerns.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were higher intraday in a choppy session. Despite some volatility this week, the S&P 500 remained higher by 1.8% for November to date through Wednesday’s close, and hovered less than 0.7% below its all-time intraday high.
The Dow lagged, led by a drop in shares of Cisco (CSCO). The company posted quarterly results that were dented by components shortages, and the computer networking equipment company posted a disappointing current-quarter forecast. And meanwhile, Alibaba’s (BABA) sharply disappointing quarterly report and slashed guidance for the full year raised alarm bells about the pace of growth in China — the world’s second-largest economy — as company executives highlighted slowing consumption trends
Nvidia (NVDA) shares jumped, however, after the semiconductor company posted record quarterly revenues and strong full-year guidance. The report suggested it was effectively navigating a lingering global shortage and meeting elevated demand.
The past could days of equity market declines have coincided with a mixed set of economic data, with a new print Thursday showing jobless claims ticked down only modestly last week, and a report Wednesday showing a surprise drop in new-home construction last month. Commentary about inflation also mounted and added to investors’ concerns over elevated price pressures. Target (TGT) executives flagged rising labor and other input costs during their earnings call on Wednesday and added to a chorus of other company mentions of inflation.
The possibility that elevated inflation will stick around longer than previously anticipated remained a central focus for investors, both for its potential dampening effect on consumer spending, and as a potential catalyst for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than previously telegraphed. The U.S. central bank has so far maintained its accommodative tilt and telegraphed that an initial interest rate hike could take place sometime next year, depending on the evolution of the economic recovery. Investors also continue to await a formal announcement from President Joe Biden about his nominee for Fed chair, with the most likely candidates being current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and current Fed Governor Lael Brainard.
The Fed’s present still-accommodative leaning has helped support equity markets and capped Treasury yields, which has in turn further kept investors focused on riskier assets like stocks over bonds.
“The yield question is kind of global in nature,” Uma Pattarkine, CenterSquare senior analyst, told Yahoo Finance Live on Wednesday. “We still see [central] banks being very, …….
Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stock-market-news-live-updates-november-18-2021-231831751.html
