U.S. stocks ended solidly lower Wednesday, following European markets downward, as the broad-based S&P 500 clung to a small gain for 2015 with one day of trade remaining. Selling in energy shares – the most beaten-down group in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index for two straight years – may also be accelerating at the end of the year as investors unload loss-making trades for tax purposes.
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Despite a volatile year that saw the major US averages plunge more than 10 percent, the indexes are within 5 percent of their record intraday highs and on pace to end the year little changed to slightly higher.
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USA stocks closed lower on Thursday, capping the worst year for the market since 2008.
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The Dow Jones industrial average fell 117.11 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,603.87. S&P 500 futures gained 33 points, or 1.76% to 1955, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 72 points, or 1.73% to 4266. The Nasdaq composite fell 58.43 points, or 1.2 percent, to 5,007.41.
On the other hand, the consumer discretionary sector has been the best performer on the S&P, rising 9.5 per cent in 2015, led by Netflix’s 139-per-cent increase and Amazon’s 122-per-cent gain. The higher price target estimate for the stock has been calculated at $95 while the lower price target estimate is at $75.
“It’s a very uninspiring last trading day to a very soggy year in the markets”, said John Augustine, chief investment officer at Huntington Wealth & Investment Management.
USA stocks fell on Wednesday after a decline in oil prices rippled through markets, triggering losses in energy stocks and currencies of commodity-exporting countries.
ENERGY: Crude oil and natural gas prices rose, recovering some of their losses from the day before.
Traders are now watching for official inventories data from the Energy Information Administration that’s expected at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The index is up only 0.2 percent for the year. It’s the first down year for the Dow since 2008.
Throughout the year, the performance of the market was impacted by expectations of the FED raising interest rates, continuing downtrend in oil prices, and a slowdown in some major emerging markets.
Data on tap: Weekly jobless claims released early Thursday rose 20,000 to 287,000 (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-jump-20000-to-287000-2015-12-31)in the week ended December 26 – marking the largest weekly increase since February. The U.S. oil drilling rig count showed a decline of 2, according to Baker Hughes.
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In commodity markets, oil prices steadied following more heavy falls in the previous session, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.4% at $36.74 a barrel and Brent crude up 0.6% at $36.67. The measure rose as much as 3.5 per cent in 2015, and fell 9.3 per cent at its low in August amid its first correction in four years, sparked by worries about weakness in China. The dollar fell to 120.21 yen from 120.55 yen, while the euro fell to $1.0859 from $1.0924.
