US markets end mostly higher on Wednesday

25 Nov 2021 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday after a Labor Department report showing first-time claims for US unemployment benefits slid to their lowest level in over fifty years in the week ended November 20th. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims tumbled to 199,000, a decrease of 71,000 from the previous week's revised level of 270,000. Street had expected jobless claims to edge down to 260,000 from the 268,000 originally reported for the previous week. However, upside remained capped amid a continued increase in US treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note reaching its highest intraday level in six months. Yields were extending the upward move seen since President Joe Biden announced his intent to re-nominate Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell amid concerns the central bank could accelerate plans to tighten monetary policy.

On the sectoral front, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, although computer hardware stocks moved sharply higher, driving the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index up by 3 percent to a five-month closing high. HP Inc. (HPQ) led the sector higher, spiking by 10.1 percent after the computer and printer maker reported fiscal fourth quarter results that beat expectations and raised its first quarter guidance. Interest rate-sensitive commercial real estate stocks also showed a strong move to the upside, with the Dow Jones US Real Estate Index climbing by 1.2 percent to its best closing level in well over two months.

Nasdaq rose 70.09 points or 0.44 percent to 15,845.23 and S&P 500 was up by 10.76 points or 0.23 percent to 4,701.46, while Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 9.42 points or 0.03 percent to 35,804.38.


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