Stock Market News Today, 7/18/24 – Indices Continue Decline; Jobless Claims Miss Estimates

Last Updated: 4:00 PM EST

Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the red as investors continue to rotate out of tech stocks. Indeed, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 0.48%, 0.78%, and 1.29%, respectively.

On Thursday, the Department of Labor released its Initial Jobless Claims report, which came in worse than expected. In the past week, 243,000 people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. Expectations were for 229,000 individuals.

In addition, Continuing Jobless Claims, which measures the number of unemployed people who qualify for unemployment insurance, came in at 1.867 million. This was above the forecast of 1.86 million and higher than last week’s print of 1.847 million.

It’s worth noting that Continuing Jobless Claims have been on an overall uptrend since hitting record lows in September 2022, as the layoffs from large companies continue to impact the workforce.

Furthermore, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia released its Manufacturing Index report, which measures the general business conditions in Philadelphia. The report surveys approximately 250 manufacturers. A level above zero indicates improving conditions, while a number below zero indicates the opposite.

For July, the report came in at 13.9 compared to the forecast of 2.7, meaning that conditions improved more than expected on a month-over-month basis. In addition, it’s worth mentioning that this is the sixth consecutive monthly increase following an almost two-year period that was mostly marked by decreases.

First Published: 4:44 AM EST

U.S. futures edged higher on Thursday morning after a sell-off in tech stocks, which resulted in the Nasdaq Composite index’s worst day since December 2022. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up by about 0.46%, 0.21%, and 0.04%, respectively, at 3:55 a.m. EST, July 18.

On Wednesday, the stock market witnessed a mixed performance. The Dow Jones gained 0.59% and surpassed the 41,000 level for the first time. On the other hand, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices declined by 1.39% and 2.77%, respectively.

The pullback in tech stocks can be attributed to two key reasons. Firstly, concerns about tighter trade rules between the U.S. and China, especially regarding technology exports, worried investors. Secondly, investors are shifting attention from fast-growing tech firms to sectors likely to do well as interest rates decline. This change is supported by expectations of a possible interest rate cut in September.

Moving to today’s economic releases, Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ended July 12 and changes in Existing Home Sales for June will be made public. On the earnings front, Abbott (ABT), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ), Alaska Airlines (ALK), and Netflix (NFLX) will report their quarterly results today.

Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was up at the time of writing, floating near 4.17%. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures trended higher, hovering near $83.68 per barrel as of the last check.

Elsewhere, European markets opened higher on Thursday as investors eagerly awaited the European Central Bank’s (ECB) interest rate decision due later today.

Asia Pacific Markets Traded Mixed on Thursday

Asia-Pacific indices traded mixed today. Japanese stocks tanked owing to a global selloff in chip stocks. On the other hand, Chinese markets climbed as investors looked forward to policy updates from the Third Plenum meeting, which is set to conclude today. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.41%. At the same time, China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices rose 0.48% and 0.50%, respectively. However, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices closed lower by 2.36% and 1.6%, respectively.

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