U.S. stock exchanges closed lower on Thursday. At the end of trading in New York, the Dow finished at 52,553 points, representing a drop of 0.2 percent compared to the previous day. The Nasdaq 100 performed even worse, declining 1.6 percent to close at 29,026 points, while the broader S&P 500 closed down 0.5 percent at 7,534 points.
Andreas Lipkow, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, noted that U.S. labor market data largely met expectations, indicating a robust job market. However, he added that retail sales sometimes fell below predictions, suggesting ongoing consumer reticence. Counterbalancing this, the Philadelphia Fed Index rose significantly, reaching 41.4 points, well above the expected 12.5. Lipkow stated that this final figure supports the positive economic trend in the U.S., which had been highlighted the previous day by the Empire-State Index.
While some optimists maintain that an economic recovery is possible, driven by positive indicators from both the U.S. and China, pessimists point to escalating inflation risks. The analyst explained that central banks are currently trying to remain neutral through careful verbal interventions. Consequently, financial policy is offering no impetus that could shift investors from typical summer caution into a buying frenzy.
In other financial markets, the European currency weakened slightly on Thursday evening, trading at 1.1441 U.S. dollars per Euro, meaning the dollar was worth 0.8740 Euros.
Gold prices were also significantly down, with a spot ounce recorded at $3,976 in the evening-a 2 percent drop. This equates to 111.74 Euros per gram. Furthermore, oil prices declined; Brent crude from the North Sea reached $84.29 per barrel around 10 PM German time, which was 0.8 percent (66 cents) less than the previous day’s closing rate.
