Wall Street’s main indices opened lower on Thursday, as investors sought clarity on the state of the US economy and the future path of monetary policy. This market reaction followed President Donald Trump signing the bill that ended the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history.
The bill, signed late on Wednesday, brought an end to the 43-day political stalemate that had paralysed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of public sector workers unpaid. The shutdown had also temporarily halted the release of essential government economic data, depriving policymakers and businesses of key reports used to gauge the health of the world’s largest economy. The market participants will now keenly monitor the resumption of economic
Data releases from the US government. These reports will be critical in assessing whether the Federal Reserve is likely to continue cutting interest rates at its upcoming December policy meeting.
As of 10 AM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 fell 0.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.1%.
At the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 80.9 points, or 0.17%, to 48,173.92. The S&P 500 fell 24.4 points, or 0.36%, to 6,826.47, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 143.8 points, or 0.61%, to 2,3262.645.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.10% from 4.08% late Wednesday.
Key Stock Movers
Walt Disney stock declined by 7.9% as the company reported quarterly earnings that missed expectations.
Artificial Intelligence chips giant Nvidia tumbled 2.7%.
Other AI firms also fell, with Palantir Technologies dropped 3.4% and Super Micro Computer slipped 4.2%.
Cisco shares jumped 4.3% after the tech giant delivered better than expected profit and revenue.
Bullion Market
Gold prices surged on Thursday, buoyed by hopes that US economic data following the government’s reopening could bolster the case for a Federal Reserve rate cut next month.
As of 09:36 AM ET (1147 GMT), spot gold gained 0.4% to $4,215.49 per ounce. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.2% to $4,220 per ounce.
In other metals, spot silver pared gains to fell 0.2% to $53.33 per ounce. Platinum edged down 1.3% at $1,593.87 and palladium lost 1% to $1,452.50.
Crude Oil
Oil prices rebounded on Thursday, taking a break after major losses in the previous session, as investors weighed concerns about global oversupply with looming sanctions against Russia’s Lukoil.
Brent crude futures rose 64 cents, or 1%, to $63.35 a barrel by 1357 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude increased 63 cents, or 1.1%, to $59.12 a barrel, after a decline of 4.2% on Wednesday.
