US markets end lower on Thursday

31 May 2024 Evaluate

Magnifying their previous session’s losses, the US markets ended lower on Thursday with the Dow once again falling to its lowest closing level in almost a month. A fall in shares of Salesforce (CRM) weighed on the Dow, with the cloud-based software company plunging by 19.7 percent to its lowest closing level in over five months. Salesforce came under pressure after reporting weaker than expected fiscal first quarter revenues and providing disappointing fiscal second quarter guidance. Concerns about the outlook for interest rates also continued to weigh on the markets ahead of the release of closely watched inflation data on Friday. The Commerce Department is due to release its report on personal income and spending in the month of April, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve. Street expect consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent in April, matching the increase seen in March, while the annual rate of consumer price growth is expected to come in unchanged at 2.7 percent.

On the economic data front, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits crept modestly higher in the week ended May 25th. The report said initial jobless claims rose to 219,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 216,000. Street had expected jobless claims to inch up to 218,000 from the 215,000 originally reported for the previous week. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product climbed by 1.3 percent in the first quarter compared to the previously reported 1.6 percent jump. The downwardly revised increase, which was in line with market participants, compares to the 3.4 percent surge in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2023. A separate report released by the National Association of Realtors showed a sharp pullback by pending home sales in the U.S. in the month of April.

Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 330.06 points or 0.86 percent to 38,111.48, Nasdaq fell 183.5 points or 1.08 percent to 16,737.08 and S&P 500 was down by 31.47 points or 0.6 percent to 5,235.48.


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