The US markets ended lower on Thursday. The pullback by stocks seemed to coincide with an advance by treasury yields, which rebounded following the pullback seen on Wednesday. The increase by yields was partly attributed to remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell during a virtual event hosted by Princeton University. However, downside remained capped on optimism about additional fiscal stimulus helped generate early buying interest, as President-elect Joe Biden is expected to unveil a major relief package later today. A report said the price tag for the package is expected to be in the ballpark of $2 trillion. The package is expected to include an increase in direct payments to Americans as well as an extension of increased unemployment insurance and support for state and local governments.
On the global front, a report released by the Labor Department showed US import and export prices both increased by more than expected in the month of December. The Labor Department said import prices climbed by 0.9 percent in December after edging up by a revised 0.2 percent in November. Street had expected import prices to rise by 0.6 percent compared to the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month. Prices for fuel imports led the way higher, spiking by 7.8 percent in December after surging up by 4.8 percent in November. Rising petroleum prices more than offset lower natural gas prices. Excluding fuel imports, import prices rose by 0.4 percent in December after dipping by 0.2 percent in the previous month.
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.95 points or 0.22 percent to 30,991.52, Nasdaq dropped 16.31 points or 0.12 percent to 13,112.64 and S&P 500 was down by 14.3 points or 0.38 percent to 3,795.54.
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