US markets end lower after weak economic data

22 Feb 2019 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower with losses of over quarter a percent on Thursday, with Nasdaq snapping an eight-session winning streak, on the heels of a slew of disappointing economic data, including a report from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve unexpectedly showing a contraction in regional manufacturing activity for the first time since May of 2016. The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity in the region tumbled to a negative 4.1 in February from a positive 17.0 in January, with a negative reading indicating contraction. The index had been expected to slip to 14.0. A separate report from the Commerce Department also showed a smaller than expected increase in durable goods orders in January. The report said durable goods orders surged up by 1.2 percent in December after jumping by an upwardly revised 1.0 percent in November. Street had expected durable goods orders to soar by 1.5 percent compared to the 0.7 percent increase that had been reported for the previous month.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released a report showing existing home sales unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in over three years in January. NAR said existing home sales tumbled by 1.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.94 million in January after plunging by 4.0 percent to a revised rate of 5.00 million in December. The continued decrease surprised participants, who had expected existing home sales to climb by 1.0 percent to a rate of 5.04 million from the 4.99 million originally reported for the previous week. With the third consecutive monthly decrease, existing home sales slumped to their lowest annual rate since November of 2015. Meanwhile, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected in the week ended February 16. The report said initial jobless claims dropped to 216,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 239,000. Street had expected jobless claims to dip to 229,000.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 103.81 points or 0.40 percent to 25850.63, Nasdaq dropped 29.36 points or 0.39 percent to 7459.71 and S&P 500 was down by 9.82 points or 0.35 percent to 2774.88.

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