The Dow rebounded from nearly 300 points down to finish higher after a volatile session. Oil prices dropped more than 3% on downbeat economic data out of China. Meanwhile, the yen dropped to a 24-year low as the greenback strengthened. Loading Something is loading.
The Dow rebounded from a nearly 300-point decline as the S&P 500 also reversed higher in a choppy trading session Thursday.
Each of the three major averages, however, remain on pace to finish the week lower, with the Nasdaq on pace to end roughly 3.5% down.
Early in the session, stocks pointed to a fifth straight decline as a drop in weekly jobless claims pointed to a tight labor market and more leeway for the Federal Reserve to continue hiking rates aggressively. Markets will look to the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report on Friday.
Downbeat data from China, too, is weighing on investors and broader economic forecasts.
“With corporate earnings now a distant memory, the market is firmly focused on the slowdown effect of hiking rates. Adding to the downbeat mood, rising COVID cases in China and widening lockdown measures mean supply chain disruptions worries are returning,” Fiona Cincotta, senior financial markets analyst at Citi Index, said. “Chinese manufacturing PMI also unexpectedly contracted for a second straight month.”
Here’s where US indexes stood as the market closed 4:00 p.m. on Thursday:
S&P 500: 3,966.85, up 0.30%Dow Jones Industrial Average: 31,656.42, up 0.46% (145.99 points) Nasdaq Composite: 11,785.13, down 0.26%The stock market could retest its June low over the next few weeks on recession fears and as it enters the “worst time of the year,” according to Ned Davis Research. The firm noted that the weakest-performing time of the year for the S&P 500 is September 6 to October 25, which means the index will be vulnerable in the short term.
Cathie Wood’s flagship ARK fund suffered the biggest monthly outflow in nearly a year. It still has $8 billion in assets under management, though Wood’s fund has seen an epic fall from a peak of $28 billion.
Bank of America’s head of commodities said Europe will need to cap natural gas prices, as industries can’t handle the jump in energy costs. European electricity prices soaring to 1,000 euros is a “clear market failure,” BofA’s Francisco Blanch said.
The British pound could near parity with the US dollar next year as the energy crisis sends the UK into a recession, an analyst from Capital Economics warned.
In Asia, the yen hit a 24-year low against the dollar on Thursday as economic data and expectations of continued Fed tightening fueled a rally in the greenback. The yen slipped 0.75% to 140 per dollar.
Oil prices fell, with West Texas Intermediate down 3.47% to $86.44 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, inched lower 3.68% to $92.12 a barrel.
Gold edged lower 1.11% to $1,707.00 per ounce. The 10-year yield jumped 12.7 basis points to 3.259%. At one point Thursday, the two-year US Treasury yield surged to 3.516%, its highest mark in 15 years.
Bitcoin dropped 1.93% to $19,819.78.