Stocks Turn Red As Jobless Claims Rise, Gold Rallies, Oil Plummets: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

It’s a red day on Wall Street, with stocks retreating as investors assess the latest economic data indicating an increase in jobless claims and Walmart, Inc. WMT delivering a cautious stance on the consumer outlook.

Treasury yields fell, as investors flocked to fixed income. The 10-year yields erased Wednesday’s uptick, settling at 4.45%.

On the data front, jobless claims exceeded expectations, totaling 231,000 last week and reaching their highest level in three months. Import and export prices came in below anticipated levels, heightening concerns about a sustained economic slowdown. Money markets have completely ruled out the probability of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike and are factoring in four rate cuts in 2024.

Oil prices plummeted by 4.8%, causing further declines in energy stocks, while precious metals acted as a safe haven, leading to gains for mining companies.

The VanEck Oil Services ETF OIH dropped by 4.4%, making it the worst-performing industry today, while the VanEck Gold Miners ETF GDX rallied nearly 2%, representing the best-performing industry

Cues From Thursday's Trading:

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 eased 0.1%, while Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. Small caps underperformed, shedding 1.6%.

US Index Performance On Thursday

Thursday Trading In Major US Equity ETFs

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY was 0.1% lower to $449.11.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF DIA fell 0.3% to $349.24.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ fell 0.1% to $385.34, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Looking at S&P 500 sector ETFs:

• The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund XLU rose 0.7%, outperforming other sectors.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE was the laggard, down 2.7%.

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Stocks In Focus:

• Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO experienced an almost 12% decline, due to the lackluster outlook for both the current quarter and the full year.
• Palo Alto Networks Inc. PANW saw a drop of almost 6% following the release of a billings guidance that left investors disappointed.
• NetEase, Inc. NTES fell over 2% following the release of its quarterly results.
• Walmart slipped over 7% due to the weaker outlook.
• Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA tumbled 9% despite an earnings beat. The Chinese giant decided to postpone the listing of its Freshippo grocery unit and put the spinoff of its cloud business on hold, leaving shareholders disappointed.
• Other companies reacting to earnings are Macy’s, Inc. M (up 6%) Shoe Carnival, Inc. SCVL (down 7%) Warner Music Group Corp. WMG (down 4%) Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM (up 5%) and The Children’s Place, Inc. PLCE (down 26%).
• Those reporting after the close include Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT, The Gap, Inc. GPS, Ross Stores, Inc. ROST and Beazer Homes USA, Inc. BZH.

Commodities, Bonds, Other Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil plummeted 4.8%, with a barrel of WTI-grade crude trading at $73. The United States Oil Fund ETF USO was 4.7% lower to $67.99.  

Treasuries rallied, with the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF TLT up 1.5% for the day. 

The dollar slightly eased, with the U.S. dollar index, which is tracked by the Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund ETF UUP, down 0.1%. The EUR/USD pair, which is tracked by the Invesco CurrecyShares Euro Currency Trust FXE, was 0.1% higher to 1.0858.

European equity indexes had a mixed session. The SPDR DJ Euro STOXX 50 Etf  FEZ closed flat. 

Gold rose 1.2% to $1,982/oz. The SPDR Gold Trust GLD was 1.2% higher to $183.80. Silver rose 1.6% to $23.82, with the iShares Silver Trust SLV up 1.8% to $21.83. Bitcoin BTC/USD fell 3.6% to $36,502.

Staff writer Piero Cingari updated this report midday Thursday. 

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