U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending a winning streak as investors assessed the latest economic data and digested comments from Federal Reserve officials. Even industry benchmark Nvidia gave up some of its earlier gains, but the Dow ended in positive territory.
How did the benchmarks perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.8%, or 299.90 points, to close at 39,134.76, marking its third consecutive day of gains.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3%, or 13.86 points, to close at 5,473.17 points, ending a two-day winning streak, although the index briefly surpassed the 5,500-point mark for the first time ever during the session’s high.Tech stocks were the worst performers, but most other major sectors finished in the positive.
The Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) fell 1.1%. The Utility Select Sector SPDR (XLU) rose 0.9% and the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) added 0.5%. Eight of the benchmark index’s 11 sectors finished in positive territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.8%, or 140.64 points, to finish at 17,721.59, ending a seven-day winning streak.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) rose 6.41% to 13.28. Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the New York Stock Exchange by a 1.03-to-1 ratio. Volume on Thursday totaled 11.98 billion shares, below the average of 13.51 billion over the past 20 sessions.
NVIDIA shares fall as investors gauge economy’s health
The tech stocks, which had been on an upward trend, finally saw their winning streak come to an end on Thursday after the June 19 holiday. NVIDIA CorporationNVDAAI, the AI-related stock that has been at the center of the AI ​​frenzy and driving Wall Street’s rally, has given up some of its previous gains.
Nvidia shares fell 3.5% on Thursday after the chipmaker briefly traded at $1.2 billion for Microsoft.MSFT) emerged as the most valuable public company in the United States on Tuesday. The company’s shares have risen 164% since the beginning of the year. NVIDIA Corporation has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Meanwhile, the latest economic data renewed investor fears of an economic slowdown, as higher-than-expected weekly jobless claims numbers and weak housing data dampened investor sentiment.
Investors also scrutinized comments from Federal Reserve officials to gauge the timing of a rate cut.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said it would take more than a year for inflation to return to the Fed’s 2% target because wages are still growing at a rapid pace, raising concerns that high interest rates could persist for even longer.
Economic Data
The Labor Department reported that jobless claims for the week ended June 15 were 238,000, down 5,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 243,000. The four-week moving average was 232,750, down 1,250 from the previous week’s revised figure of 227,250.
Continuing claims for unemployment insurance were 1,828,000, up 15,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 1,813,000. The four-week moving average was 1,805,500, down 7,250 from the previous week’s revised figure of 1,795,250.
The Census Bureau said Thursday that housing starts fell 5.5% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million after increasing 4.1% in April. That was well below the consensus forecast of 1.37 million and the lowest level since July 2020.
Building permits issued fell 3.8% to 1.39 million from 1.44 million, below analyst expectations of an increase of 1.45 million.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Download today: 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Click to get this free report.
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
