US markets end mostly lower on Thursday

08 Sep 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended mostly lower on Thursday amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for interest rates following recent economic data. First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly saw a continued decline in the week ended September 2nd, according to a report released by the Labor Department. The report said initial jobless claims fell to 216,000, a decrease of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level of 229,000. Street had expected jobless claims to rise to 234,000 from the 228,000 originally reported for the previous week. Jobless claims decreased for the fourth consecutive week, falling to their lowest level since a matching figure in the week ended February 11th. The Labor Department said the less volatile four-week moving average also slipped to 229,250, a decrease of 8,500 from the previous week's revised average of 237,750.

Meanwhile, activity in the U.S. service sector unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in the month of August, according to a report released by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). The ISM said its services PMI rose to 54.5 in August from 52.7 in July, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. The increase surprised participants, who had expected the index to edge down to 52.5. The report said the new orders index climbed to 57.5 in August from 55.0 in July, while the employment index jumped to 54.7 in August from 50.7 in July. The business activity index also crept up to 57.3 from 57.1. On the sectoral front, Computer hardware stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, resulting in a 3.0 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Significant weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent slump by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.

Nasdaq fell 123.64 points or 0.89 percent to 13,748.83 and S&P 500 was down by 14.34 points or 0.32 percent to 4,451.14, while Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 57.54 points or 0.17 percent to 34,500.73. 


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