The stock markets in the United States fluctuated and eventually ended the trading higher except the Russell 2000, down by 0.02% today. Investors are dealing with mixed economic data and weak corporate earnings, which caused up and down movement of the equity markets.
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The Federal Reserve reported that the U.S. industrial production declined 0.2% in September after a revised 0.1% decline in August. It is the latest sign that the U.S. economy lost some momentum in the third quarter.
The Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of job openings declined to 5.4 million in August. The agency also reported that the number of hires and separations was little changed at 5.1 million and 4.8 million respectively.
Bob Pavlik, chief market strategist at Boston Privae Wealth LLC, told Market Watch, “The mood in the market is tentative, and people are looking for an explanation of why stocks moved as much as they have since earnings have been underwhelming and economic data are weak.”
[drizzle]On the other hand, Peter Boockvar, managing director and chief market strategist at The Lindsey Group commented, “The rally over the past three weeks has been very narrow, as two-thirds of the stocks on the S&P 500 are still below the 200-day moving average. This suggests the bull market continues to lose soldiers. I think we peaked in May and what we saw over the past few weeks is a bear-market rally.”
In an interview with CNBC, Aviva CEO Mark Wilson suggested that the global equity markets will experience volatility until 2019 due to concerns over the slowing Chinese economy.
“It used to be that when the U.S. sneezed, the rest of the world caught a cold, then the same thing happened with China. My view is that the market will get immunity to that,” said Mr. Wilson.
U.S. Markets
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) – 17, 215.31 (+0.43%)
- S&P 500- 2,033.03 (+0.45%)
- NASDAQ- 4,886.69 (+0.34%)
- Russell 2000- 1,159.81 (-0.02%)
European Markets
- EURO STOXX 50 Price EUR- 3,264.93 (+0.81%)
- FTSE 100 Index- 6,378.04 (+0.62%)
- Deutsche Borse AG German Stock Index DAX- 10,104.43 (+0.39%)
Asia-Pacific Markets
- Nikkei 225- 18,291.80(+1.08%)
- Hong Kong Hang Seng Index- 23,067.37 (+0.78%)
- Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 Index- 3,534.07 (+1.36%)
Stocks in Focus
The stock value of Quanta Services plummeted more than 28% to $18.74 per share. The company warned that its third-quarter financial results will be lower than expected. Quanta Services said its revenue will be “slightly below the midpoint” its previous guidance of around $1.9 billion to $2 billion. The company expected its earnings to be around $0.22 to $0.24 per share compared to its previous estimate of $0.34 to $0.40 per share.
Twitter gained more than 4% to $31.14 per share driven by the report that Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft acquired 4% stake in the company. Ballmer is one of the biggest individual shareholders of Twitter. His stake in the company is worth approximately $800 million.
The stock price of Yum! Brands climbed more 4% to $72.18 per share driven by the appointment of Keith Meister, an activist investor and managing partner of Corvex Management. The restaurant operator also released an updated outlook on its business in China.
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