US benchmarks on Wall Street end in a mixed bag of results

• The Nasdaq Composite put on 5 points, or 0.1%, to finish near 8,183.
• The S&P 500 finished less than a point lower near 3,006.
• The Dow lost about 53 points to close near 27,093.

Wall Street was a mixed bag with benchmarks ending either side of the game line but all three ended virtually flat on Thursday, as investors remained unenthused by the Federal Reserve's hawkish rate cut that has left a less bullish case for equities, especially in the face of trade war uncertainties. The S&P 500 finished less than a point lower near 3,006 after coming in just a couple of points shy of its all-time high of 3,025.86 scored on July 26th. The Dow lost about 53 points to close near 27,093, while the Nasdaq Composite put on 5 points, or 0.1%, to close near 8,183.

US data

The Philadelphia Fed index implied some early autumn moderation in manufacturing activity but intensification in pricing pressures. "Initial claims for the week ended Sept 14^th, which covers the survey week for non-farm payrolls, fell to 208k. This suggests a non-farm payrolls number of around 140k for September could be on the cards," analysts at ANZ Bank explained. 

DJIA levels

The bearish doji on yesterday’s daily candle formation led to a down day on the session on Thursday with the index struggling much above the 27200 level leaving a bearish bias on the charts. Considering the Fed, the bears can target the 21-DMA, the 50 and then the 200 DMA. Further below lies the May and Jun lows in the 24700s as a double-bottom target.