US markets end higher on hopes Fed to take more aggressive easing approach

19 Jul 2019 Evaluate

The US markets ended marginally higher on Thursday as investors refocused on a potential US rate cut following fresh commentary from Federal Reserve officials. In remarks at the Central Bank Research Association's annual meeting in New York, Federal Reserve President John Williams argued it pays to act quickly to lower rates at the first sign of economic distress. He added ‘I think about monetary policy near the zero lower bound-or ZLB for short -in much the same way’. It is better to take preventative measures than to wait for disaster to unfold. However, buying interest was somewhat subdued as traders were also digesting reports that the US Navy has shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump said the USS Boxer took defensive action after the drone closed to within 1,000 yards of the amphibious assault ship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.

On the economic front, reflecting weaknesses in new orders for manufacturing, housing permits, and unemployment insurance claims, the Conference Board released a report showing an unexpected decrease by its index of leading US economic indicators in the month of June. The Conference Board said its leading economic index fell by 0.3 percent in June after coming in unchanged in May. The drop surprised market participants, who had expected the index to inch up by 0.1 percent. Besides, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for US unemployment benefits increased in line with economist estimates in the week ended July 13. The report said initial jobless claims inched up to 216,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised level of 208,000. Street had expected jobless claims to creep up to 216,000 from the 209,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3.12 points or 0.01 percent to 27222.97, Nasdaq rose 22.04 points or 0.27 percent to 8207.24 and S&P 500 was up by 10.69 points or 0.36 percent to 2995.11.

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