4:05pm: US equities close in big retreat, led by tech
US stocks tanked, led by high-growth tech stocks, as a spike in bond yields spooked investors.
The 10-year Treasury yield jumped 11 basis points above 1.75% at its session high, reaching its highest level since January 2020.
On the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 153 points, or 0.46%, to 32,862. The S&P 500 dropped 1.48% to 3,915 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined hard by 3.02% to 13,116.
12.20pm: US stocks mixed at lunch; tech sector lags
US stocks were mixed on Thursday at lunch but the Dow Jones Industrial Average did manage to advance 0.60%.
It came as US bond yields were up once again, weighing on shares, notably tech stocks and after earlier jobs data disappointed.
The S&P 500 shed around six at 3,968, while the Nasdaq plunged over 151 at 13,373. The Dow Jones however added over 210 points at 33,226
Yesterday, the closely watched Federal Reserve comment led to a boosted outlook for economic US growth. Chairman Jerome Powell repeated that the Fed wants to see inflation push above the 2% target, and jobs improvements before the central bank considers a rate hike or easing back on asset purchases.
A new survey also showed the US economy grew again in February despite bad weather.
10.20am: Proactive North America headlines:
American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) says sponsored $100 million American Acquisition Opportunity SPAC begins trading on NASDAQ
Blackrock Silver Corp (CVE:BRC) hits high-grade silver and gold at its Tonopah West project in Nevada
HempFusion Wellness Inc (TSE:CBD.U) (OTCMKTS:CBDHF) (FRA:8OO) to enter massive China market via subsidiary Probulin Probiotics on Alibaba Group Holding’s Tmall Global
Safe-T Group Ltd (NASDAQ:SFET) (TASE:SFET) subsidiary launches new IP Proxy platform
NEXE Innovations Inc (CVE:NEXE) (OTCMKTS:NEXNF) (FRA:NX5) set to fully launch its XOMA Superfoods product line after a stellar pilot debut
Silver Range Resources Ltd (CVE:SNG) (OTCMKTS:SLRRF) (FRA:8SR) updates on work progress at Stinson and Lucky Boy properties in Nevada
First Mining Gold Corp (TSE:FF) (OTCQX:FFMGF) (FRA:FMG) says Auteco set to earn 51% of Pickle Crow gold project after fulfilling first stage requirements
Aurania Resources Ltd (CVE:ARU) (FRA:20Q) says undertaking overnight marketed public offering of units for gross proceeds of up to C$6.75M
Vuzix Corp (NASDAQ:VUZI) (FRA:V7XN) M400 Smart Glasses deployed at New York distribution center
Endeavour Mining Corp (TSE:EDV) (OTCQX:EDVMF) (FRA:E5Y1) reports record 4Q and FY2020 production from its West African gold operations
PyroGenesis Canada Inc (TSX:PYR) (NASDAQ:PYR) (FRA:8PY) receives grant to develop pot lining waste recovery process
NetCents Technology Inc (CSE:NC) (FRA:26N) (OTCQB:NTTCF) reports cryptocurrency transaction volume exceeds $10.8M in first half of March
The Valens Company (TSE:VLNS) (OTCQX:VLNCF) (FRA:7LV) set to launch Verse Cannabis products on the Medical Cannabis by Shoppers platform
XPhyto Therapeutics Corp (CSE:XPHY) (OTCMKTS:XPHYF) (FRA:4XT) announces EU approval for coronavirus test
Heritage Cannabis Holdings Corp (CSE:CANN) (OTCQX:HERTF) says Health Canada has granted it the first-ever license to export cannabis products from Canada to Brazil
Loop Insights Inc (CVE:MTRX) (OTCQB:RACMF) enters into five-store pilot with Canadian grocer Sobeys to deliver digital receipts via its Wallet Pass technology
Delta 9 Cannabis Inc (TSX:DN) (OTCQX:DLTNF) announces grand opening of its eleventh cannabis retail store, and eighth in the Province of Manitoba
Soma Gold Corp (CVE:SOMA) (OTCMKTS:PRSRF) (FRA:8PR1) encouraged by exploration drill results at its Colombia assets
9.40am: Wall Street starts mostly lower
The main indices on Wall Street got off to a mostly lower start on Thursday after US jobless claims disappointed traders.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.04% at 33,029, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.47% to 3,955 and the Nasdaq fell 1.14% to 13,371.
The mostly slower start followed data that showed 770,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, up 45,000 from the previous week's figure of 725,000 (itself revised up by 12,000) and worse than market expectations of a fall to 700,000.
The unexpected rise in joblessness indicates that the US labour market is still straining in the fallout of the pandemic, although many will be hoping new stimulus measures and vaccinations will get the economy back on track in the coming months.
7:50am: Wall Street to head in both directions
On Wall Street, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 hit record highs in the wake of Wednesday's Federal Reserve comments. But a subsequent rise in US Treasury yields to the highest since January last year has left things a little more up in the air, and US markets are heading for a mixed start.
The Dow is forecast to open around 18 points higher at 33,033 and the S&P 20 points lower at 3954. The Nasdaq Composite, which missed out on the records, is set to fall 167 points to 13,358.
Before the open come US weekly jobless claims, which are expected to show a fall from the previous figure. Dave Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: "The US jobless claims reading at 12.30pm (UK time) is predicted to fall from 712,000 to 700,000. The report will be closely watched because there hasn’t been a reading below the 700,000 mark since March 2020."
After the bell come third-quarter results from FedEx, whose second-quarter figures in December showed a strong performance thanks to the growth of e-commerce during the pandemic.
Four things to watch for on Thursday:
- Big names in the earnings diary on Thursday will include sportswear retailer Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), consulting group Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) and delivery services group FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX)
- Electric truck maker Nikola Corp (NASDAQ:NKLA) could also be in focus after one of its major partners, South Korean conglomerate Hanwha, decided to sell half of its stake in the firm
- Following the Fed yesterday, traders will be looking across the Atlantic for the latest interest rate decision and commentary from the Bank of England
- Meanwhile, other macro news in the diary includes the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index for March as well as US jobless claims data for last week