Stocks Pause After Dow's 30000 Milestone
November 25 2020 - 10:59AM
Dow Jones News
By Will Horner
The Dow Jones Industrial retreated Wednesday, sliding back below
30000 after mixed economic data.
The blue-chip index fell around 154 points, or 0.5%, to 29891, a
day after breaching the 30000 milestone for the first time. The
S&P 500 lost 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite swung between small
gains and losses and was recently up less than 0.1%.
Wednesday's move marked a pause in a rally fueled by hopes for
Covid-19 vaccines and easing concerns around the U.S. presidential
transition. President-elect Joe Biden's pick of former Federal
Reserve head Janet Yellen for Treasury secretary has also increased
hopes of sizable stimulus measures.
Countering that optimism are concerns that the coronavirus
pandemic continues to threaten households and raises the prospect
of further restrictions. As of Tuesday, there were 88,080
hospitalized patients in the U.S., a record high for a 15th
consecutive day, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
"We are certainly in a much more optimistic position than we
were a few weeks ago," said Seema Shah, chief strategist at
Principal Global Investors, stating that investors' major concerns,
from the pandemic to a rocky political transition, have been mostly
resolved.
"The market is trying to balance itself between the short-term
outlooks of a winter wave of Covid cases and the more positive
medium-term outlook thanks to the vaccine and the recovery that
will follow. But that medium-term outlook is plagued with
uncertainties," she added.
Gap fell 16% after reporting flat sales in the third quarter.
Executives at the retailer cautioned that rising virus cases would
likely weigh on store visits during the crucial holiday shopping
season.
HP dropped 1.1%, despite posting revenue that was better than
expected.
The declines followed a slate of mixed readings on the U.S.
economic recovery, with some data releases brought forward due to
Thursday's Thanksgiving holiday. U.S. markets are shut Thursday and
close early on Friday.
Weekly figures from the Labor Department showed jobless claims
rose for a second consecutive week, a sign that resurging Covid-19
cases are taking a toll on the labor market. Meanwhile, durable
goods orders rose by more than forecast.
C onsumer spending rose in October for the sixth consecutive
month while incomes fell 0.7%. Consumer spending has been the
driving force behind the economy's recovery and investors will be
watching for signs of how Americans are faring.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve's last monetary policy meeting
earlier this month are also due later in the session.
In commodities, Brent crude, the international benchmark for
oil, rose 1.1% to $48.28 a barrel. Gold prices ticked 0.4% higher
to $1,811.80 a troy ounce.
Overseas, the pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.3%, led by
auto makers and energy companies. Asian benchmarks were mixed, with
the Japanese Nikkei 225 ending the day 0.5% higher, while China's
Shanghai Composite fell 1.2%.
Write to Will Horner at William.Horner@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2020 10:44 ET (15:44 GMT)
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