US markets end lower following release of some disappointing US economic data

24 Jul 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Thursday following the release of some disappointing US economic data, including a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for US unemployment benefits increased for the first time in sixteen weeks. The report said initial jobless claims jumped to 1.416 million in the week ended July 18th, an increase of 109,000 from the previous week's revised level of 1.307 million. Street had expected jobless claims to come in unchanged compared to the 1.300 million originally reported for the previous month. Jobless claims increased for the first time since late March but remain well below the record high of 6.867 million set in the week ended March 28th. A separate report from the Conference Board showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators increased by less than expected in the month of June.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index jumped by 2.0 percent in June after soaring by an upwardly revised 3.2 percent in May and plunging by 6.3 percent in April. Street had expected the index to surge up by 2.5 percent in June compared to the 2.8 percent spike originally reported for the previous month. Besides, a sharp decline by shares of Microsoft weighed on the markets, with the software giant tumbling by 4.4 percent. Microsoft reported quarterly results that beat street estimates on both the top and bottom lines but said transactional license purchasing continued to slow and its LinkedIn unit was negatively impacted by the weak job market.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 353.51 points 1.31 percent to 26,652.33, Nasdaq dropped 244.71 points or 2.29 percent 10,461.42 and S&P 500 was down by 40.36 points or 1.23 percent to 3,235.66.

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