4:05pm: US equities close lower on tech weakness
US stocks closed lower a day after a massive sell-off in tech stocks after the Federal Reserve signaled an end to its easy-money policies.
Market observers said investors, who have been overweight in tech, are trying to figure out where to shift their money next amid rising inflation and interest rates.
On the day, the DJIA fell by 171 points, or 0.47%, to 36,236 and the S&P 500 dropped 010% to 4,696.
And the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 19 points, or 0.13%, to 15,080.
12:05: Nasdaq manages to move higher
US markets continued their mixed run by midday Thursday after a hawkish turn during Fed minutes on January 5, 2022. While the broader S&P 500 and tech-savvy Nasdaq Composite recovered after a sluggish opening, the Dow Jones Industrial Average continued to drop.
At noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.30%, or 110 points at 36,297. Simultaneously, S&P 500 gained 0.15%, and Nasdaq Composite rose by 0.39%.
“Last night’s Fed minutes set off fireworks across global markets, and the reverberations continue to be felt this afternoon, with a feeling across markets of investors scrambling to reallocate funds from one sector to another,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, a global leader in online trading.
He added: “Ironically, after struggling earlier in the week and suffering particularly badly yesterday, it is the Nasdaq 100 that has managed to move higher, as a few adventurous bargain hunters step up to the plate.”
The analyst noted that perhaps the losses recently have managed to make growth stocks more attractive once again, “although given the febrile atmosphere that prevails this afternoon it might not be wise to expect this bounce to continue.”
11.45am: Proactive North America headlines:
NEO Battery Materials builds R&D Scale-Up Centre at South Korea's Yonsei University
Fidelity Minerals set for first phase exploration at Las Huaquillas project as it files NI 43 101 technical report
Cabral Gold outlines its plans for 2022 and provides a summary of 2021 successes at the Cuiú Cuiú gold district in northern Brazil
Benchmark Metals resumes drilling to expand gold-silver zones at flagship Lawyers Gold-Silver project in British Columbia
Belmont Resources reveals high-grade copper intercepts from two drill holes at Lone Star project in Washington State
Levitee Labs (CSE:LVT) forms medical advisory board and welcomes five new members
Northstar Gold says last year's phase IIB surface exploration program at Miller has extended Allied Syenite gold zone
Safe-T Group (NASDAQ:SFET) expects estimated fiscal year 2021 revenues to exceed $10M
PlantX Life announces opening of XMarket Café and store at Rideau Hudson’s Bay in Ottawa
Bloom Health Partners opens new location in New Jersey to serve northeastern US
CleanSpark says it closed December with 633 Bitcoins
Todos Medical CEO Gerald Commissiong says Nasdaq uplisting expected in 1H 2022; NLC Pharma acquisition on track
GameSquare Esports congratulates its CEO, Justin Kenna for being named among top executives defining the future of advertising in video games and esports
Logiq expects record 4Q revenue of $12.3M and improved gross margin
BioHarvest Sciences sees double digit 4Q sales order growth in first full year of VINIA sales
Lucky Minerals (TSX-V:LKY, OTC:LKMNF) strikes strategic partnership with drilling firm, announces C$2M financing in preparation for Wayka program
Phunware announces two new strategic supplier relationships and optimized PC series for CES in Las Vegas
FPX Nickel confirms continuity of new nickel discovery at Van target in British Columbia's Decar nickel district
CO2 GRO reveals CO2 Delivery Solutions is meeting targets in California greenhouse feasibility study
Nextech AR Solutions sees strong demand from large manufacturers for its CAD-Poly 3D modeling technology ARitize CAD
Golden Tag Resources poised for diamond drill restart at San Diego project in Mexico
Sassy Resources (CSE:SASY, OTCQB:SSYRF) acquires Highrock Uranium Project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin
Braxia Scientific enters an agreement with institutional investors for a private placement to raise gross proceeds of approximately C$3M
Hapbee Technologies showcasing latest generation of its smart wearable device and app at CES in Las Vegas
Vicinity Motor receives C$3.5M order from First Transit for eight Vicinity Classic buses
Seeing Machines announces strategic partnership with Ambarella
Vuzix collaborates with European optical giant Fielmann and TeamViewer to support enterprise personnel
Kodiak Copper prepares for transformative year as it progresses its MPD and Mohave projects
Binovi Technologies appoints Jatinder Dhaliwal as its CEO and a director
Thesis Gold says initial drill results from Ridge zone in BC has confirmed 'excellent' continuity of high-grade mineralization
AMPD Ventures says Ian Wilms has joined the company as vice president of Business Development and Government Affairs
NetCents (CSE:NC, OTCQB:NTTCF, Frankfurt Code :26n) Technology announces appointment of Sholeh Atash as its chief operating officer
9.40am: US stocks start in red
US benchmarks started lower in New York, with tech stocks again being sold off amid the prospect of rising interest rates this year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 99 points at 36,307. The S&P 500 lost around three points at 6,697.
The Nasdaq Composite index shed nearly 26 points to stand at 15,074.
The minutes released on Wednesday of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting revealed an accelerated timetable of interest rate hikes and the possible reduction in its balance sheet, which sent the tech-heavy Nasdaq exchange tanking.
Traders today are also mulling over the US weekly jobless claims, which rose to 207,000 in the latest reading from a revised 200,000 the previous week. consensus had been for a figure of 195,000.
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics said the general trend for jobless claims was downward.
"We think claims will rise a bit further in the next couple weeks, before hitting new lows at the end of this month. The fundamentals haven’t changed; the labor market remains extremely tight, and firms won’t let staff go unless they have no other choice," he said.
"It’s possible that an extended Omicron wave would change that, but the initial impact likely is to make firms even more keen to keep people, as absenteeism due to Covid rockets."
6.30am: US stocks seen opening mixed as tech stocks weigh
US stocks are expected to open mixed following a sharp selloff on Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting revealed an accelerated timetable of interest rate hikes and the possible reduction in its balance sheet.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.25% in Thursday pre-market trading, while the broader S&P 500 index gained 0.04%. Those for the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.32%.
The Nasdaq fell the most in almost a year on Wednesday, slumping 3.34% to 15,100 as investors shied away from rate-sensitive tech stocks. Tesla dropped 5.4%, Alphabet 4.6%, Microsoft 3.8% and Apple 2.7%.
The Dow declined by 1.07% to 36,407 and the S&P dropped 1.94% to 4,701.
“The Federal Reserve continues to wield considerable power over global markets and its latest comments are not what investors want to hear,” commented Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Minutes from its latest monthly meeting implied that a tight jobs market and ongoing inflation could result in a more aggressive change in monetary policy with interest rates going up sooner than expected. As a result, tech stocks have been heavily sold down, including a 3.3% decline in the tech-heavy Nasdaq index last night on Wall Street.
"A lot of tech companies trade on high valuations with the hope of large profit growth in the future rather than today, and these types of stocks are very sensitive to rising rates."