Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims slipping to 265,000.Twitter fell 3.6 percent to $19.44 after Evercore downgraded its stock to “sell” from “hold”.Cisco was off 1.6 percent at $30.23, after the company reported a 1.6 percent drop in revenue and said it would cut jobs.Valeant Pharma’s USA -listed shares were up 2.8 percent at $30.81 after the drugmaker said it received approval from a lender to amend its credit facility.Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by 1,641 to 977.
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Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s July meeting in Washington at which central bank leaders ultimately passed on raising the country’s benchmark interest rate were published Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 21.92 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 18,573.94, the S&P 500 had gained 4.07 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 2,182.22 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 1.55 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 5,228.66. Low rates have pushed up stock prices and any change might cool investor enthusiasm.
As per the market analysts, despite strong payroll data, currency markets still believe that there will be no Fed rate hike in CY16. “Despite some members saying that an immediate hike is appropriate and some saying one would soon be warranted, the more cautious members of the Fed said that they would have “ample time” to react to a rise in inflation”. But many think the Fed will lack enough certainty to act, especially if inflation remains far below the Fed’s target. Earlier today data showed Japanese imports and exports suffered their biggest monthly fall in 7 years, which is likely to put more pressure on BoJ to take action. Home improvement retailer Lowe’s reported a smaller-than-expected profit.
According to the minutes, “Some participants viewed recent economic developments as indicating that labor market conditions were at or close to those consistent with maximum employment” suggesting that one of the Fed’s mandate is being met and May’s employment report was just an anomaly.
Shares of Target were down 6.4 per cent while Lowe’s was down 5.6 per cent after they cut full-year earnings forecasts.
FLIP TO THE LAST PAGE: Barnes & Noble tumbled after the book seller said CEO Ronald Boire is leaving after less than a year.
Even the struggling British pound rose, jumping to a two-week high of $1.3150 after United Kingdom retail sales for July beat forecasts, showing little sign that British shoppers had been affected by the Brexit vote.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude shed 8 cents to $46.71 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
International Brent crude oil futures were at $49.69 a barrel at 12.50am GMT, down 0.3% from their last close. It jumped 62 cents the previous session.
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The dollar slipped against the yen and the euro with the dollar-yen slipping below 100 with Fed officials split on hike.
