Last Updated: 4:05 PM EST
Stock indices finished today’s trading session mixed following a slew of new economic data. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 1.06% and 0.51%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.2%. U.S. economic activity in the second quarter was stronger than expected, with the Commerce Department reporting a 2.8% annualized growth in GDP.
This growth rate, which measures all goods and services produced from April to June, beat the 2.1% forecast by economists and accelerated from the 1.4% rise in the first quarter. The boost came from a jump in consumer spending, along with an increase in private inventory investment and nonresidential fixed investment.
In fact, consumer spending grew by 2.3%, up from 1.5% in Q1, with both services and goods seeing significant increases. Inventories also added 0.82% to the overall gain. However, imports jumped 6.9%, the biggest rise since early 2022, which took away from GDP.
Furthermore, inflation showed signs of easing, with the personal consumption expenditures price index rising 2.6%, down from 3.4% in Q1. Core PCE prices, excluding food and energy, increased by 2.9%, down from 3.7% before. Still, the personal savings rate dropped to 3.5% from 3.8% in Q1.
In addition, initial jobless claims for the week ending July 20 were 235,000, down 10,000 from the previous week. Meanwhile, durable goods orders fell by 6.6% in June, though when excluding transportation, new orders rose by 0.5%.
First Published: 3:53 AM EST
U.S. futures inched higher on Thursday morning after yesterday’s weak trading session. The S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq Composite indices posted their worst declines since 2022, driven by a sharp sell-off in technology stocks. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up by about 0.18%, 0.11%, and 0.13%, respectively, at 3:13 a.m. EST, July 25.
Disappointing earnings from tech titans such as Alphabet (GOOGL) (GOOG) and Tesla (TSLA) sent shockwaves through the market. This led to a tech sell-off on Wednesday, dragging the Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500, and the Dow Jones lower by 3.64%, 2.32%, and 1.25%, respectively.
In major after-market action, Ford (F) stock declined by 12.6% due to disappointing Q2 results. In contrast, Chipotle (CMG), IBM (IBM), and ServiceNow (NOW) gained more than 2% as their earnings exceeded expectations.
In today’s economic reports calendar, investors are looking forward to the release of the advance estimate for Q2 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. Furthermore, the Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ended July 19 is due today.
On the earnings front, several major companies, including American Airlines (AAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV), AbbVie (ABBV), AstraZeneca (AZN), and Honeywell (HON), will report their results today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down at the time of writing, floating near 4.26%. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures trended lower, hovering near $76.98 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European markets are expected to open lower today due to weak global investors’ sentiment.
Asia Pacific Markets Traded Lower on Thursday
Asia-Pacific indices traded in the red today, mirroring Wall Street’s tech sell-off. Moreover, Japan experienced the biggest losses due to a stronger yen and rising expectations of an impending interest rate hike.
China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices declined 0.52% and 0.22%, respectively. Further, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices closed lower by 3.28% and 2.98%, respectively. At the time of writing, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 1.78%.
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