Fed officials continue to forecast two 25 basis-point rate hikes this year. Meanwhile, concerns over “Brexit” and decline in crude prices continued to weigh on investor sentiment. On the Nasdaq, 1,258 issues fell and 988 advanced.The S&P 500 index showed 7 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 13 new highs and 11 new lows.
Advertisement
For a look at the issues now facing the markets, make sure to read today’s Ahead of Wall Street article.
About 9.1 billion shares traded hands on US exchanges, 30 percent above the three-month average after a quarterly event known as quadruple witching, when futures and options contracts on indexes and individual stocks expire. The S&P 500 also fell 0.2% to close at 2,071.50.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 44.58 points, or 0.92 percent, to 4,800.34. Healthcare led decliners among the industry groups, down about 1%.
Almost 9 billion shares changed hands on USA exchanges, well above the 6.7 billion average over the past 20 trading days, according to Thomson Reuters data.
NYSE declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.05-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, a 1.17-to-1 ratio favoured decliners. The FOMC stated: “The pace of improvement in the labor market has slowed while growth in economic activity appears to have picked up”. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and central banks in Britain, Japan, Canada and Switzerland have warned this week over the potential for economic damage in the event of a secession. “There is no central bank that would make a move in front of [Brexit]”. The BOJ’s decision to leave its record monetary stimulus unchanged came less than 12 hours after the Fed reined in its projection for interest-rate increases.
Merck rose the most in the Dow, gaining 2.7%.
The prospect of Britain’s voting to leave in the June 23 referendum has been rattling markets.
Gold jumped to the highest level since August 2014.
The Bloomberg Commodity index rallied 1.7 percent, ending three days of losses, as a retreat in the dollar increased the appeal of commodities priced in the USA currency. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) declined 0.4% to 94.59.
The S&P 500 has fallen 18.08 points, or 0.9 percent. (ALXN – Analyst Report), Biogen Inc. Treasuries fell as demand for havens cooled.
Investors looking for signs on the strength of the USA economy will parse the Commerce Department’s report on housing starts which is expected to have slipped to 1.15 million in May from 1.17 million in April.
In economic news, industrial production declined 0.4% in May, wider than the consensus estimate of a 0.2% decrease.
Advertisement
Data on Thursday showed initial jobless in the United States claims rose more than forecast last week, while the cost of living in the USA excluding food and fuel rose in May, propelled by rising rents.
