Market close: S&P rebounds for session milestone
By Joseph Toppe
21:56, 18 November 2021
US indices ended trading mixed on Thursday as investors kept a close eye on retail earnings.
At the close of Thursday’s session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 60.10 points lower, or 0.2%, at 35,870.95, the S&P 500 improved 15.87 points, or 0.3%, to end at a record 4,704.54, while the Nasdaq Composite went up 72.14 points, or 0.5%, finishing at a record 15,993.71.
On Wednesday, two of the three major gauges notched losses but remained within striking distance of all-time highs, with the S&P just 0.3% away from a record, and the Nasdaq Composite just 0.4% from an all-time closing high.
Winners and losers: Retail drives mid-week trading
Vinod Jain, senior analyst of Capital Markets at the Aite-Novarica Group in Boston, Massachusetts, said retail earnings are influencing the movement of major US benchmarks as “early shopping picks up for the holiday season.”
Additionally, there is a “realisation that neither the mall or online shopping can win the battle, and both are here to stay,” he said in an interview with Capital.com. “At a certain point, online shopping could become mentally tiring.”
Shares of Macy’s are up over 21% after the long-time retailer reported third-quarter earnings that beat estimates and pitched investors on its growth in e-commerce.
Shares of Kohl’s went up 7.8%, after raising their full-year guidance and showing earnings that beat analysts’ predictions.
Shares of Apple are up 2.9% at the close of trading on Thursday following reports the company is investing in self-driving functions.
Shares of Cisco sank 5.5% following a disappointing guidance, while shares for Deere hopped 1% after the company reached an agreement with employees and a strike slated for 14 October was called off.
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Oil: Crude picks up steam during second half
Oil futures are higher on Thursday as the US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery, went up 0.8% to settle at $79.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Brent crude hit a session low of $77.08.
January Brent crude the global benchmark, added 96 cents, or 1.2%, at $81.24 a barrel.
Gold: Metals close lower, gold and silver down
On Thursday, gold retreated from its high-water mark since the summer.
December gold dropped $8.80, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,861.40 an ounce, following a 0.9% gain on Wednesday.
December silver lost 27 cents, or 1.1%, to end at $24.90 an ounce, following a 0.9% gain on Wednesday.
Forex: US dollar outworks krone and ruble
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dipped 1.8 basis points to 1.586%, while the ICE US Dollar Index, a measure of the currency against a basket of six major rivals, was down 0.3%.
Also on Thursday, the Norwegian krone (NOK) was down 0.2% when compared to the US dollar, the Russian ruble (RUB) lost 0.7%, while the USD/CAD is largely the same.
Sterling benefitted from both strong labour and inflation data this week, gaining ground against its peers. Cable (GBP/USD) is up 0.1% from previous close, while EUR/GBP is flat after falling to 0.8385 yesterday.
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