US markets closed mostly lower; Dow reports minor gains

25 Jan 2018 Evaluate

The US markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday, as technology names came under pressure, but the Dow managed to buck the trend to close higher on the back of a few blue-chip financial shares. All three equity benchmarks had set fresh all-time intraday highs near the start of trade but couldn’t maintain altitude. Federal Reserve Board nominee Marvin Goodfriend defended his past focus on inflation, saying that while earlier warnings about runaway prices were absolutely proved wrong, it was the Fed’s credibility in controlling inflation that has allowed unemployment to fall so low. On the economy front, business activity in the US private sector declined less than expected in January, as a strong start to the year in manufacturing helped offset the slowdown in services. In a report, market research group IHS Markit said that its composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), covering both the manufacturing and services sectors, fell to 53.8 in January, from the prior reading of 54.1. By sectors, the research group said that its flash services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) unexpectedly dropped to 53.3 in January, from the prior month’s reading of 53.7.

Meanwhile, existing-home sales hit a 5.57 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in December. The sales of previously owned homes tumbled in December as an ongoing inventory crunch worsened. Existing-home sales were down 3.6% for the month, though they were up 1.1% compared with a year ago. NAR said November’s selling pace was revised down to 5.78 million. Sales for all of 2017 were just 1.1% higher than in the previous year, but that was still enough to make it the best year since 2006. The biggest force in the housing market is still lopsided supply and demand. Inventory in December dropped 11.4% for the month, and 10.3% for the year. It marked the 31st month in which supply was lower compared with a year ago. At the current pace of sales, it would take 3.2 months to sell all available inventory, the lowest since NAR began tracking in 1999. That pushed prices higher again. The median sales price in December was $246,800, up 5.8% compared with a year ago.

The Nasdaq lost 45.23 points or 0.61 percent to 7,415.06, the S&P 500 edged lower by 1.59 points or 0.06 percent to 2,837.54, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 41.31 points or 0.16 percent to 26,252.12.

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