DJIA sheds 207 pts, S&P 500 below 5,950 as Trump rally fades; Apple gains by $3/share

DJIA Index US Stock Market Today: US equity benchmarks fell on Thursday amid selling pressure in industrial, consumer discretionary, health, real estate and material stocks, though buying interest in select energy and technology stocks saved the market from deeper cuts. A nascent rally that began with Donald Trump's win in the 2024 US election last week continued to fade, while positive economic data supported investor sentiment. Blue-chip indices Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and S&P 500 fell 0.5-0.6 per cent, shedding 207.3 points to 43,750.9 and 36.2 points to 5,949.2 respectively. The technology stocks-heavy Nasdaq Composite gave up 123.1 points, or 0.6 per cent, to settle at 19,107.7. 

The DJIA index traded only briefly in the positive zone after starting the day up 74.2 points and gyrated in a 376-point range before settling near the 43,750 mark. 

The Nasdaq Composite fell for the third session in a row, taking its cumulative losses to 191.1 points, or 1.0 per cent. 

Jerome Powell's Remarks

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the US central bank need not rush to ease monetary policy further, dashing nascent hopes of one more rate cut in 2024. 

Speaking at an event, Powell said the Fed can deliberate carefully on rate cuts as the US economy is still growing and its job market is solid while inflation remains above its 2 per cent target.

This month, the US central bank lowered key lending rates by 25 basis points, as widely expected, citing a solid pace of economic activity and inflation continuing to move towards the American central bank's 2 per cent target. The Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC), the US central bank's rate-deciding panel, decided unanimously on the rate. 

Meanwhile, the Fed Chair has said that the 2024 US presidential election will have no impact on its policy decisions in the near term.

US Jobs Data

Official data on jobless claims in the world's largest economy, a key indicator of economic activity tracked closely by investors and analysts globally, showed that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week. Initial jobless claims dropped by 4,000 to 2,17,000 for the week ended November 9, according to the US Labor Department.

Investors awaited a key US stockpiles update and Fed official Thomas Barkin's speech, due later in the day, for cues. 

ALSO READ: Dalal Street Watch | Macro data, earnings, FII activity, other things to track

Apple Shares

The Apple stock gained by $3.1, or 1.4 per cent, to close at $228.2 apiece.

Tesla Shares

The stock of Tesla, led by billionaire Elon Musk, slumped by $19.1, or 5.6 per cent, to settle at $311.2 per share—its second loss since the US election day.

Tesla is among a few stocks that got a boost from the US election outcome.

DJIA Index: Top gainers & losers 

Eighteen DJIA stocks closed lower, with Salesforce (down 3.0 per cent), Cisco (down 2.1 per cent), Unitedhealth Group (down 2.1 per cent), Amgen (down 1.8 per cent), Boeing (down 1.3 per cent), Amazon.com (down 1.2 per cent) and Walmart (down 1.2 per cent) being the worst hit. 

On the other hand, Walt Disney (up 6.2 per cent), Chevron (up 1.9 per cent), Apple (up 1.4 per cent), 3M (up 0.7 per cent and McDonald's (up 0.4 per cent) were the top gainers in the 30-scrip index.

With inputs from agencies

Catch all the latest stock market updates here. For all other news stories in buzzing categories ranging from technology and automobiles to personal finance, visit Zeebiz.com.