US markets end lower on Monday

06 Feb 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Monday as some traders looked to cash in on the rally seen to close out the previous week amid fading optimism about the likelihood the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in March. Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the central bank is unlikely to cut interest rates next month. Powell suggested the strength of the US economy even amidst elevated rates will allow the Fed to proceed carefully. However, selling pressure waned over the course of the session as traders once again saw the pullback as a buying opportunity about general optimism about the outlook for the markets. on the sectoral font, Despite the recovery attempt by the broader markets, airline stocks finished the day sharply lower, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 2.9 percent. Substantial weakness also remained visible among gold stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released a report showing U.S. service sector growth accelerated by more than expected in the month of January. The ISM said its services PMI climbed to 53.4 in January from a downwardly revised 50.5 in December, with a reading above 50 indicating growth in the sector. Street had expected the index to rise to 52.0 from the 50.6 originally reported for the previous month. The bigger than expected increase by the headline index was partly due to an acceleration in the pace of new orders growth, with the new orders index rising to 55.0 in January from 52.8 in December. The report also showed a significant turnaround in employment in the service sector, as the employment index jumped to 50.5 in January from 43.8 in December.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 274.3 points or 0.71 percent to 38,380.12, Nasdaq dropped 31.28 points or 0.2 percent to 15,597.68 and S&P 500 edged down 15.8 points or 0.32 percent to 4,942.81.


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