US markets end mostly lower on Thursday

14 Aug 2020 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Thursday as traders expressed some uncertainty about the outlook for the markets. Meanwhile, a steep drop by Cisco Systems weighed on the markets, with the networking giant plunging by 11.2 percent after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter results but providing disappointing guidance. Traders also kept an eye on developments in Washington, where Democrats and White House officials remain at an impasse over a coronavirus relief bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin spoke on Wednesday, but both sides came out of the conversation blaming the other for a lack of progress.

On the economic data front, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for US unemployment benefits declined by much more than anticipated in the week ended August 8th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims tumbled to 963,000, a decrease of 228,000 from the previous week's revised level of 1.191 million. Street had expected jobless claims to slide to 1.120 million from the 1.186 million originally reported for the previous week. With the much bigger than expected decrease, jobless claims dropped below 1 million for the first time since the week ended March 14th.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 80.12 points 0.29 percent to 27,896.72 and S&P 500 was down by 6.92 points or 0.2 percent to 3,373.43, while Nasdaq rose 30.26 points or 0.27 percent 11,042.5.

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