US markets closed lower as threat of government shutdown looms

19 Jan 2018 Evaluate

The US markets closed lower on Thursday, pressured by worries over the possibility of a partial government shutdown, as investors sorted through a fresh batch of quarterly earnings results. Meanwhile, the lawmakers are working to carve out a deal to avoid a looming shutdown for Saturday. Democrats and Republicans looked to be making little headway though, with immigration a major sticking point. Republican leaders are scheduled to bring forward a short-term spending bill to keep the government running through mid-February.

On the economy front, a gauge of Philadelphia-area manufacturing fell to five-month low of 22.2 in January. That’s still well above the zero reading, as any positive figure indicates improving conditions. Confidence in the manufacturing sector, while strong, is returning to more normal levels. The new-orders component slumped 18 points to a reading of 10.1. Shipments did rise, growing to 30.3. Separately, construction on new houses fell 8.2% in December to a 1.19 million annual rate. Single-family starts dropped 11.8%, but construction on buildings with five or more units rose 2.6%. Permits for future construction were basically flat at 1.30 million. Home construction fell in all four regions, led by a 14.2% drop in the South and a 4.3% decline in the Northeast.

On the other hand, initial US jobless claims tumbled by 41,000 to 220,000 in mid-January, marking the biggest one-week decline since 2009. The number of new claims also touched the lowest level since February 1973. The more stable monthly average of claims, meanwhile, declined by a smaller 6,250 and stood at 244,500. The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, rose by 76,000 to 1.95 million. In early January claims fell sharply in New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia. Initial jobless claims are now near the lowest level since the early 1970s and show no sign of turning higher. They’ve been under the key 300,000 threshold for 150 straight weeks, the longest stretch since the late 1967 to 1970.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 97.84 points or 0.37 percent to 26,017.81, the Nasdaq dropped 2.232 points or 0.03 percent to 7,296.05, and the S&P 500 edged lower by 4.53 points or 0.16 percent to 2,798.03.

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