Wall Street Today | Indexes Claw Back Wed Drop While Q3 GDP Comes in a Little Lower
RECAP
U.S. stocks finished higher on Thursday as Wall Street clawed back from a sharp selloff in the previous session that sent the S&P 500 to its biggest one-day decline since September, while investors awaited a fresh reading of the Fed's preferred inflation measure due out Friday morning.
The $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US$ was up around 320 points, or 0.9%, to finish near 37,403. The $S&P 500 Index(.SPX.US$ was 48 points higher, or 1%, to end around 4,746. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US$ advanced 185 points, or 1.3%, ending near 14,963.
MACRO
Third-quarter GDP Growth Lowered to 4.9%
The U.S. economy expanded at a revised 4.9% annual pace in the third quarter, a surprising burst of growth that appears to have tapered off at year end.
Gross domestic product, the official scorecard for the economy, was reduced from a previously reported 5.2% in the government's third estimate. It was still the biggest increase in GDP in a decade excluding the pandemic years of 2020-2021.
Yet while the economy is still growing, it's cooled off quite a bit. GDP is forecast to increase at a mild 1% to 2% in the final three months of 2023.
The figures are adjusted to take inflation into account.
Higher interest rates have squeezed the economy. Consumers are buying fewer big-ticket items and businesses are investing less. Hiring has also slowed.
There's still no sign of recession in sight, however. The strength of the labor market has fueled consumer spending to keep the economy forging ahead.
SECTORS
Oil Prices Fall After Angola Leaves OPEC
Crude oil prices dropped Thursday morning after Angola said it would leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC.)
Futures on Brent crude, the global gauge for oil pricing, $Crude Oil Futures(JUN4)(CLmain.US$ traded as low as $77.81 a barrel, or 2.4% below Wednesday's closing level, before recovering to about $79.
Angola has recently pumped about 1.1 million barrels daily of crude, some 1.2% of the global total. Its exit from OPEC was not a complete surprise to the market since the West African country recently was embroiled in a dispute about the cartel's quotas.
The last meeting of OPEC and its allies, on Nov. 30, was delayed by four days due to the disagreement, in which Nigeria also took issue with proposed output quotas.
Despite the significant oil output cuts announced after the meeting, oil prices slid by about 10% over the next two weeks. Oil traders cited doubts about the group's cohesion.
Marathon Digital Adds Bitcoin Custodian, Crypto Sector Rises Following Bitcoin up
$Marathon Digital(MARA.US$ said Thursday it has enlisted Anchorage Digital Bank as its third Bitcoin custodian to diversify its holdings. It rose and followed the rest of the crypto sector higher while Bitcoin rose 3% Wednesday, but began to pull back Thursday afternoon.
Thursday’s rally came as $Bitcoin(BTC.CC$ itself rallied to near a new 52-week high. The crypto traded as high as $44,206.55 – just $500 or so below its 52-week record price of $44,705.52.
The crypto’s gains sent other bitcoin-related stocks higher. $Iris Energy(IREN.US$ rallied nearly 40% Thursday after the bitcoin mining firm announced that it’s completed an equity-raising to fully fund the company’s 10 EH/s expansion. while $BIT Mining(BTCM.US$ gained 10.5% to trade at $5.89.
COMPANIES
Tesla Stock Is Up Again
$Tesla(TSLA.US$ shares were up 3% in Thursday's trading session, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.8% and 1%, respectively.
Apple Pulls Watches From Online Store to Meet US-Ordered Ban
Some $Apple(AAPL.US$ watch products have been removed from online stores to comply with the US ban.
Warner-Paramount Deal Would Test Appetite for Streaming Consolidation
The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets reported late Wednesday that $Warner Bros Discovery(WBD.US$ Chief Executive David Zaslav met with $Paramount Global-B(PARA.US$ Chief Bob Bakish earlier this week to discuss a possible deal.
Paychex Stock Is Worst S&P 500 Performer After Mixed Earnings Report
Shares of $Paychex(PAYX.US$ tumbled Thursday after the payroll services company fell short on quarterly sales but raised fiscal 2024 guidance.
Micron +6% After Better-Than-Expected 1Q Results
According to Factiva data, Micron Technology is one of the most mentioned companies in the U.S. across all news items Wednesday night. $Micron Technology(MU.US$ posted better-than-expected results for its quarter ending in November.
Source: Bloomberg, Dow Jones, CNBC, Reuters
Disclaimer: Moomoo Technologies Inc. is providing this content for information and educational use only.
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