US close: Stocks slide as indices fall from record highs
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 20 Feb 2020
(Sharecast News) - US stocks closed lower on Thursday as indices dropped from the record highs seen at the end of the previous session.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.44% at 29,219.98, while the S&P 500 was 0.38% weaker at 3,373.23 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.67% softer at 9,750.96.
The Dow closed 128.05 points lower on Thursday after both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit new record highs during the previous session despite market participants remaining cautious of potential economic fallouts related to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
China's National Health Commission confirmed overnight that 74,576 cases of the new coronavirus had now been confirmed, leading to 2,118 deaths on the mainland.
Wednesday's rally was driven by minutes published late on Wednesday from the most recent US Federal Reserve meeting that showed policymakers were cautiously optimistic regarding the prospect of holding interest rates steady for the duration of 2020.
With the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak still weighing on sentiment during the session, some stronger-than-expected data did help boost risk appetite somewhat on the Street early in the session.
On the macro front, US jobless claims continued to hover near their recent lows, reflecting still low levels of firings in the economy.
According to the Department of Labor, initial unemployment claims for the week ending on 15 February edged up by 4,000 to reach 210,000, as expected.
Elsewhere, factory sector activity in the US mid-Atlantic region roared back to life in February, according to the results of one of the most closely-followed surveys, wrong-footing analysts.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing sector gauge jumped from a reading of 17.0 points for January to 36.7 in February. Economists had been anticipating a decrease to 10.0.
Lastly, the US leading index came in at 0.8% for January - double what economists had estimated.
The 0.8% gain was the highest month-to-month gain since October 2017, when the index rose 1.1%.
In the corporate space, Domino's Pizza shares surged 25.60% following a quarterly earnings beat, while Norwegian Cruise Line shares sunk 6.75% after warning of potential adverse affects impacts from the coronavirus outbreak.
Dow Jones - Risers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $247.02 1.39%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $46.85 1.21%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $126.58 0.91%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $82.49 0.60%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $151.22 0.24%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $102.53 0.07%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $136.93 0.05%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $117.68 0.01%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $137.49 0.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $65.45 -2.47%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $232.73 -1.94%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $184.42 -1.53%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $35.85 -1.05%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $302.13 -1.04%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $320.30 -1.03%
Visa Inc. (V) $211.45 -0.87%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $109.81 -0.84%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $59.86 -0.80%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $140.37 -0.66%
S&P 500 - Risers
E*TRADE Financial Corp. (ETFC) $54.73 21.81%
Cimarex Energy Co (XEC) $43.30 6.49%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $94.31 5.56%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $62.40 5.49%
Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $60.26 4.45%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $48.10 4.18%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $23.67 3.63%
Fluor Corp. (FLR) $14.56 3.56%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $14.72 3.01%
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) $136.30 2.94%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Copart Inc. (CPRT) $97.30 -6.89%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $48.37 -6.75%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.92 -6.50%
Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL) $45.53 -6.01%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $155.08 -6.01%
L Brands Inc (LB) $23.42 -4.80%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $53.75 -4.55%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $76.97 -3.81%
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) $99.81 -3.72%
Anthem Inc (ANTM) $293.85 -3.33%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $9.81 3.42%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $21.41 3.03%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $20.29 2.68%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $39.02 1.91%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $75.54 1.76%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $301.34 1.51%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $54.75 1.48%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $115.13 1.40%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $93.22 1.34%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $7.34 1.24%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $68.92 -6.50%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $155.08 -6.01%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $76.97 -3.81%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $190.56 -3.55%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $41.48 -3.42%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $167.30 -3.28%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $281.45 -3.27%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $33.86 -2.67%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $65.45 -2.47%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $132.46 -2.47%
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN