The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) and the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) declined while the NASDAQ Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) recorded gains during the shortened trading session today.
Commenting on the activity of the stock markets, John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management told Bloomberg, “It’s very light trading” and according to him, this Friday after the Thanksgiving is “subject to light volume.”
Next week, investors will focus their attention to the employment data for the month of November, manufacturing, and home sales. The Department of Labor will report its monthly jobs data next Friday. Economists are expecting that the economy added 180,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate will decline to 7.2%.
“There’s going to be a very sharp eye on the incoming economic data, with the economy really being important to the next steps for the Fed and the markets,” said Gary Flam, managing director and portfolio manager at Bel Air Investment Advisors LLC.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)-16,086.41 (-0.07%)
- S&P 500-1,805.81 (-0.08%)
- NASDAQ- 4,059.89 (+0.37%)
- Russell 2000-1,142.89 (+0.14%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,086.64 (-0.19%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,650.57 (-0.06%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 9,405.30 (+0.19%)
Asia Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 15,661.87 (-0.41%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 23,881.29 (+0.39%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 2,438.94 (-0.02%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock price of Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) declined 2.99% to $40.25 per share after Australia rejected its takeover bid for GrainCorp Ltd. (ASX:GNC) for A$12.20 per share. Australia’s Treasurer Joe Hockey said the transaction “attracted a high level concern from stakeholders and the broader community.” According to him, it is not the right time for a 100% foreign acquisition of GrainCorp, a primary business in the country.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained 1.85% to $556.07 per share. According to Kantar Worldpanel Com Tech, the iPhone and iPad maker accounts 76% of the smartphone sales for the month of October in Japan after launching its iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S models.
On the other hand, the National Retail Federation projected that online sales will increase as much as 15% to $82 billion during the holiday season. The shares of eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) climbed 2.47% to $50.52 per share while Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 1.79% to $393.62 per share.
