Dani Romero
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Stock market today: S&P 500, Nasdaq slip as tech falls, Fed's Jackson Hole kicks off
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US stocks rolled over Thursday with tech leading the losses as investors turn their focus to a key speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 0.5% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell more than 1%, led by a drop in shares of AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA). The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.4% after the three indexes closed in the green on Wednesday.
The Fed's Jackson Hole symposium kicked off Thursday with the market on high alert for any shift in tone from the policymakers when Powell speaks at the event on Friday.
Minutes from the Fed's last meeting showed several officials were open to a July rate cut, signaling a pivot is likely in next month's policy decision. Mounting hopes for lower rates have already helped markets recoup losses from an early August rout.
Read more: Fed predictions for 2024: What experts say about the possibility of a rate cut
Initial jobless claims jumped to 232,000 last week, matching expectations, while the prior week's reading was revised up to 228,000.
The data released on Thursday morning was in higher focus given an official revision to payrolls showed the labor market — a key input for policymakers — may have been cooling long before initially thought. Signs of stress could factor into how deeply the Fed cuts rates, with hopes for a 0.5% reduction in play.
On the corporate front, Paramount (PARA) shares rose after media executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. sweetened his takeover bid to $6 billion. Meanwhile, Snowflake (SNOW) stock sank as its sales outlook disappointed investors' hopes for an AI boost.
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Mortgage rates fall again, bolstering the case for lower rates ahead
Mortgage rates dipped again this week, a positive move for potential house hunters.
The average rate on the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.46% from 6.49% last week, Freddie Mac reported on Thursday. A year ago, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate loan was 7.23%.
Separately, the average rate for the 15-year fixed mortgage was 5.62%, down from 5.66% a week prior. The rate on a 15-year loan was 6.55% a year ago.
“Although mortgage rates have stayed relatively flat over the past couple of weeks, softer incoming economic data suggest rates will gently slope downward through the end of the year,” Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, wrote in a statement.
That expectation seems to have the market in a holding pattern.
“Earlier this month, rates plunged and are now lingering just under 6.5 percent, which has not been enough to motivate potential homebuyers. We expect rates likely will need to decline another percentage point to generate buyer demand," the economist added.
Over the past several weeks, the housing market has been buoyed by expectations the Fed will start cutting interest rates at its next meeting in September. Cooling inflation readings and a slowdown in the labor market have also bolstered the case for lower rates.
Nasdaq drops 1% as stocks hit session lows, Nvidia turns negative
Stocks touched session lows mid-trading Thursday. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 0.5% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) dropped roughly 1%, erasing early morning gains.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slipped 0.4%.
The tech sector led the declines as shares of AI chip heavyweight Nvidia (NVDA) dropped more than 2%.
Technology stocks led the major averages lower on Thursday TD Bank's rough year just got even rougher
Yahoo Finance's David Hollerith reports:
Challenges keep mounting for TD Bank (TD), making a rough year for the Canadian banking giant even rougher.
The Toronto lender on Thursday reported a third-quarter net loss of $133 million, largely in light of billions the bank set aside to pay for expected fines from an ongoing US investigation into its anti-money laundering practices.
The bank said in a separate filing Wednesday that it set aside an additional $2.6 billion to absorb expected penalties from the investigation, which is led by the Justice Department, on top of another $450 million set aside in April.
Read more here.
Existing home sales rise in July, home prices jump for 13th straight month as mortgage rates moderate
Yahoo Finance's Dani Romero reports:
Sales of existing homes rose in July as house hunters returned to the market with mortgage rates at their lowest levels since February.
Existing home sales advanced 1.3% from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday, stopping a four-month sales decline that began in March. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected existing sales to hit a pace of 3.94 million in July.
On a yearly basis, sales of previously owned homes dropped 2.5% in July. The median home price climbed 4.2% in July to $422,600, the 13th straight month of annual price increases.
Read more here.
Meta shares climb 1% to intraday record high
Meta (META) shares climbed more than 1% on Thursday to touch an intraday record. The stock outperformed the rest of the Magnificent 7 stocks during the session.
Shares of the social media platform are up more than 50% year-to-date.
Stocks wobble, erase early morning gains
Stocks erased their early morning gains around 10:15 a.m. ET on Thursday.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) hovered near the flat line after each gaining more than 0.4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dipped into negative territory.
Stocks erased early session gains after the latest economic data released on Thursday showed US Manufacturing PMI fell to 48 in August from 49.6 in July, coming in softer than expected.
Stocks edge higher as Fed's Jackson Hole kicks off
Stocks rose slightly on Thursday, with the S&P 500 inching closer to record levels as investors look for clues from the Fed's Jackson Hole symposium on the depth of the likely interest rate cut expected next month.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.3% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) rose 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 0.2% after the three indexes closed in the green on Wednesday.
In early trading, the S&P 500 was less than 1% away from touching its all-time intraday high set in July.
The Fed's Jackson Hole symposium kicks off Thursday, and investors are on high alert for any shift in tone from the policymakers when Powell speaks at the event on Friday.
Minutes from the Fed's last meeting showed several officials were open to a July rate cut, solidifying the probability of a pivot in September.
Hopes for lower rates have already helped markets recoup all of their losses during a stunning rebound from an early August rout.
Nvidia (NVDA) has been one of the biggest winners of that bounce. On Thursday the stock gained more than 1% following a bullish note from Citi analysts. Wall Street firms have recently reiterated their Buy ratings ahead of the AI chip giant's quarterly results next week.
Nvidia shares have gained roughly 30% since their August lows.
