After moving modestly higher over the two previous sessions, stocks have shown a significant move back to the downside during trading on Thursday. The major averages have all moved sharply lower, with the S&P 500 pulling back well off yesterday’s record closing high.
Currently, the major averages are all posting steep losses. The Dow is down 562.43 points or 1.3 percent at 44,065.16, the Nasdaq is down 223.02 points or 1.1 percent at 19,833.23 and the S&P 500 is down 58.77 points or 1.0 percent at 6,085.38.
The sell-off on Wall Street comes amid a slump by shares of Walmart (WMT), with the retail giant plunging by 6.6 percent.
Walmart is under pressure after the company reported better than fiscal fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance for the current year.
Traders may also be looking to cash in on the recent upticks by stocks, which lifted the S&P 500 to record highs despite ongoing tariff concerns and indications the Federal Reserve is likely to keep interest rates on hold for some time.
On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Labor Department showed a modest increase by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended February 15th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 219,000, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 214,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 215,000 from the 213,000 originally reported for the previous week.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia also released a report showing Philadelphia-area manufacturing activity continued to expand in the month of February, although the index of activity in the sector pulled back sharply.
Sector News
Financial stocks are turning in some of the market’s worst performances on the day, with the KBW Bank Index and NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index tumbling by 2.9 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
The nosedive by shares of Walmart is also weighing on the retail sector, as reflected by the 2.1 percent slump by the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index.
Computer hardware, networking and software stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while gold stocks are bucking the downtrend amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 1.6 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have moved to the upside after ending the previous session roughly flat. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 2.8 basis points at 4.507 percent.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Move Sharply Lower Amid Slump By Walmart
2025-02-20 16:04:43
