US markets end lower on Wednesday

19 Oct 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Wednesday with Nasdaq settling over one and half percent amid rising tensions in the Middle East, and higher bond yields on concerns about the outlook for interest rates. According to reports, a deadly missile attack on Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza killed several hundred people including women and children. Hamas attributed the blast to an Israeli airstrike, but the Israeli military said it was not involved and the explosion was caused by a misfired Palestinian rocket. On the economic data front, a report released by the Commerce Department showed a substantial rebound in new residential construction in the U.S. in the month of September. The Commerce Department said housing starts spiked by 7.0 percent to an annual rate of 1.358 million in September after plunging by 12.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.269 million in August.

Street had expected housing starts to jump to a rate of 1.380 million from the 1.283 million originally reported for the previous month. Meanwhile, the report said building permits tumbled by 4.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.475 million in September after surging by 6.8 percent to a revised rate of 1.541 million in August. Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, were expected to decrease to a rate of 1.450 million from the 1.543 million originally reported for the previous month. In the stock specific developments, Tesla drifted down 4.8 percent after the company's earnings missed estimates. Nvidia ended nearly 4 percent down amid concerns over the tighter U.S. curbs on exports of its A800 and H800 chips to China.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 332.57 points or 0.98 percent to 33,665.08, Nasdaq dropped 219.45 points or 1.62 percent to 13,314.3 and S&P 500 was down by 58.6 points or 1.34 percent to 4,314.6. 


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