NEW YORK (AP) — Stock prices on the New York Stock Exchange had a mixed close Thursday as the market’s momentum slowed after its strong first half of November.
The S&P 500 rose 5.36 points, or 0.1%, to 4,508.24, and remains comfortably on track to conclude its third consecutive week of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.74, or 0.1%, to 34,945.47, and the Nasdaq gained 9.84, or 0.1%, to 14,113.67.
Walmart influenced the market by posting an 8.1% drop after it warned that consumers reduced their spending late last month. The largest U.S. retail chain also gave a profit forecast for the upcoming holiday season that was weaker than analysts expected, even though it beat earnings forecasts in its most recent quarter.
Cisco Systems plunged 9.8%, even though it also reported stronger results for the final quarter than analysts had anticipated. The company suffered a slowdown in orders for new products last quarter, and gave earnings forecasts for this quarter and the fiscal year that were weaker than expected.
Stocks in the oil and gas industry were especially weak after the price of crude oil fell sharply to its lowest level since July. Marathon Petroleum suffered a 3.5% loss and Halliburton fell 3.3%.
Still, November remains on track to be the S&P 500’s best month in a year, amid growing hopes that the economy will reach an ideal state, perfect for markets.
Investors are betting that inflation is cooling enough to convince the Federal Reserve to suspend its interest rate hikes, after it has been raising them since last year. That in turn has fueled expectations about when the Fed might start cutting rates, which can act as steroids for financial markets.
Several more reports released Thursday show the economy is slowing. While the weaker-than-expected data is certainly a sign that the economy may be losing some of its intense momentum, for investors it could also be a sign that inflationary pressures are easing.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell from 4.54% to 4.44%.
A barrel of reference US crude oil for delivery in December lost $3.76, settling at $72.90. Brent crude, the international benchmark, also fell $3.76 to $77.42 per barrel.
AP writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.
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2023-11-16 23:18:23
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