4.05pm: Nasdaq powers to all-time high, S&P 500 up for a sixth day in a row
US stocks finished mixed on the day after the Federal Reserve outlined a cautious bond purchase tampering timeline.
At the close, the Dow slipped 33 points to 36,125, while the S&P 500 gained 20 points at 4,680 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 129 points, or 0.8%, to 15,940.
Notable movers included shares of Qualcomm Incorporated, which surged more than 12% after the chipmaker released better-than-expected 3Q earnings and provided upbeat guidance for 4Q.
12:05pm: US equities mixed midday
US stocks were mixed midday Thursday amid the Federal Reserve’s decision to slow down its bond-buying program and stronger-than-expected economic data.
The central bank said it will begin to slow its bond-buying program later this month, signaling that the economy can now handle an unwinding of pandemic stimulus.
On the data front, US jobless claims totaled 269,000 for the week ended October 30, the lowest pandemic-era total and better than the 275,000 expected.
As of noon, the Dow was down 69 points, or 0.19%, to 35,087. The S&P 500 rose 15 points, or 0.33% to 4,675.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 105 points, or 0.57%, to stand at 15,916.
The biggest gainer on the day so far is America Great Health, up 48% to $0.18 share.
11am: Proactive North America headlines:
Belmont Resources inks agreements with Marquee Resources on Lone Star Copper-Gold and Kibby Lithium properties
BioSig Technologies expands its PURE EP installation base in Texas
Logiq announces partnership with Indonesian bank BPRS to provide micro-finance services and digital payment solutions
CleanSpark closed October with 720 Bitcoins
Endexx secures purchase order with major retail chain for placement of its Blesswell product line
Co-Diagnostics (NASDAQ:CODX) says its Logix Smart COVID-19 test has been approved for sale in the UK
Golden Minerals sees record 3Q revenue of $8.5M in its first-ever profitable quarter from mining operations
TomaGold says gyroscopic survey at Obalski project will inform drilling earmarked to begin in mid-November
GreenBank says portfolio company CodiKoat awarded innovation grant of about C$1.5M
Bloom Health announces company rebranding as strategy to deliver aligned solutions on one platform
Tribe Property Technologies shares begin trading on the OTCQB in the US
Magna Mining (TSX-V:NICU) reports strong assay results from drilling at its flagship Shakespeare nickel-copper-PGM operation in Sudbury
NEO Battery Materials accomplishes anode production capacity upscaling project
Emmaus Life Sciences signs agreement with Asembia to expand support services and access to prescription medicine for sickle cell disease
Ketamine One (NEO:MEDI.AQN) announces partnership with iHealthOX for telehealth, virtual health services
Adcore obtains new contracts for aggregated estimated annual ad-budget of C$4M
Organic Garage (TSX-V:OG) appoints food industry veteran Yosi Heber to Future of Cheese’s advisory board
BetterLife obtains TD-0148A pharmacology data confirming its activity in receptors implicated in depression and neuropathic pain
GameSquare Esports subsidiary GCN announces next edition of The Collegiate Esports International
Harbor Custom Development authorizes repurchase of up to $5M worth of shares
Nomad Royalty (TSX:NSR) Company boosts profits in 3Q, posts revenue of US$6.1M
Northstar Gold reports encouraging finds from latest drilling at Miller gold project
Orgenesis (NASDAQ:ORGS) reports 425% surge in 3Q revenue as POCare platform gains scale
Zoglo’s Incredible Food announces its shares now trading on Frankfurt Stock Exchange
QC Copper and Gold publishes report for Opemiska initial resource, which showed 1.17 billion pounds of contained copper and 816,000 ounces of gold in the M&I category
Highgold Mining kicks off Phase One drilling at its Munro-Croesus project in Ontario
HempFusion (TSX:CBD.U, OTCQX:CBDHF) launches ingestible and topical CBD products into another Top 15 US supermarket chain
Greenlane Holdings announces preliminary 3Q results reflecting initial impact of successful merger with KushCo Holdings
Informational Services Corporation reports improved 3Q, driven by registry operations and services segment
Plurilock's Aurora Systems receives US$195,000 purchase order from US Department of the Interior
Idaho Champion (CSE:ITKO, OTCQB:GLDRF) reports results from first two drill holes in its 2021 exploration drilling program at Champagne gold project
Great Panther Mining eyeing full potential of its Tucano mine as it reports 3Q results
Mirasol Resources introduces its 100%-owned Sobek Copper project in Chile
9.45am: Wall Street starts mixed
Wall Street shares started mixed on Thursday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropping over 70 points, as traders mull over recent Central Bank policy announcements .
In early deals in New York, the DJIA was down around 71 points at 36,086.
The S&P 500 added over two points, however, to stand at 4,663. The technology-laden Nasdaq gained over 21 points to go to 15,833.
It comes after US stocks surged on Wednesday to close at record peaks following the Federal Reserve's decision to begin tapering its monthly stimulus package, to the tune of US$15 billion a month starting in November.
"Chairman Jerome Powell did stress however that reducing monthly purchases does not mean the Fed will hike rates any time soon. As the move was broadly in line with expectations, perhaps a bit dovish given that there will be flexibility to change the rate of taper as required, the dollar fell, and US stocks hit new record highs," said market analyst Fawad Razaqzada at Think Markets.
"Meanwhile, the ECB continues to remain dovish, along with the BoE, with both central banks QE stimulus still running at full throttle. ECB President Christine Lagarde renewed her pushback against bets for a 2022 rate increase, arguing that conditions for tightening are unlikely to be met," he added.
Elsewhere, new unemployment benefit claims in the US fell to 269,000 in the seven days to October 30 - another Pandemic low. Economists had forecast a seasonally adjusted figure of 275,000.
6.30am: US stocks seen opening mixed but mostly higher
US stocks are expected to start the trading day mixed, with tech shares benefitting the most after the US Federal Reserve struck a dovish tone as it announced an expected $15 billion tapering in its purchases of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.07% in Thursday pre-market trading, while the broader S&P 500 index added 0.09% and those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 gained 0.4%.
Investors reacted positively to the news at the end of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, with officials at the US central bank saying they still anticipated elevated inflation would fall because high readings are “largely reflecting factors that are expected to be transitory.”
At the close on Wednesday, the S&P 500 gained 30 points to finish at 4,661 points, a 0.65% gain, while the Dow Jones added 105 points to reach 36,158 for a 0.29% lift. The Nasdaq finished at 15,812 points, a 162-point or 1.04% increase.
“Major US indices rallied to fresh record yet, again, because the tapering announcement from the Federal Reserve yesterday was rather dovish,” commented Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.
“The buying of bonds should come to an end sometime by mid-2022, but until that day, the Fed will continue expanding its balance sheet to record levels, and that will continue backing the inflation pressures, and the stock markets!
“So we can comfortably expect to see the record rally in US equities to extend because a growing number of average households will be attracted to the stock markets as that’s going to be the only way to help them keeping up with inflation rising at a speed of more than 5% annually.”