US markets end deeply in red on Thursday

16 Dec 2022 Evaluate

The US markets ended deeply red on Thursday on concerns about the outlook for interest rates. A batch of disappointing U.S. economic data also added to concerns the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes will push the economy into a recession. The Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales pulled back by more than expected in the month of November. The Commerce Department said retail sales slid by 0.6 percent in November after surging by 1.3 percent in October. Street had expected retail sales to edge down by 0.1 percent. Excluding a steep drop in sale by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales slipped by 0.2 percent in November after jumping by 1.2 percent in October. Ex-auto sales were expected to inch up by 0.2 percent. A separate report released by the Federal Reserve unexpectedly showed a modest decrease in U.S. industrial production in the month of November.

The Fed said industrial production slipped by 0.2 percent in November after edging down by 0.1 percent in October. Street had expected industrial production to inch up by 0.1 percent. The unexpected dip in industrial production came as manufacturing output fell by 0.6 percent and mining output slid by 0.7 percent. Meanwhile, a 3.6 percent spike in utilities output helped limit the downside amid unseasonably cold weather across much of the country. On the sectoral front, computer hardware stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 5.4 percent to its lowest closing level in over a month. Western Digital (WDC) helped lead the sector lower, plunging by 10.1 percent after Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on the data storage company stock to Sell from Neutral.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 764.13 points or 2.25 percent to 33,202.22, Nasdaq dropped 360.36 points or 3.23 percent to 10,810.5 and S&P 500 was down by 99.57 points or 2.49 percent to 3,895.75.

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