Wall Street ends day with modest losses, energy leads losses
- US stocks fail to recover losses on Thursday.
- Energy shares drop sharply, technology rises slightly.
- Despite the fall, Dow Jones closes above 26K.
Major equity indexes in the U.S. started the day on a negative tone on Thursday as yesterday's rally failed to carry over. Although indexes tried to recover their losses later in the session, they still closed in the negative territory.
Uncertainty over a possible government shutdown in the session interfered with the trading action and didn't allow investors to take large positions. Interest rate-sensitive sectors such as real estate and utilities closed the day lower on rising expectations of a March rate hike. Commenting on this subject, "we'll continue to see a tug of war between how fast the economy grows and how fast interest rates rise. It's likely to lead to more volatility in 2018 than we saw in 2017," Kate Warne, investment strategist at Edward Jones in St. Louis.
With the barrel of West Texas Intermediate settling below the $64 mark for the second day in a row despite a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude oil stocks, the S&P 500 Energy Sector (SPNY) finished the day 0.8% lower.
On the other hand, the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector (SPLRCT) closed at a fresh all-time high after adding 0.17% on the day. Nonetheless, the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 2.78 points, or 0.04%, to 7,295.50.
After rising into the positive territory earlier in the session, the broader S&P 500 Index ended the day 4.41 points, or 0.16%, at 2,798.15 while the financial-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 2.78 points, or 0.04%, to 26,021.03.
Author
Eren Sengezer
FXStreet
As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.
