US open: Stocks lower as traders digest FOMC minutes, Walmart earnings
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 20 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were firmly in the red early on Thursday after the S&P 500 notched its second consecutive record close.
As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.98% at 44,189.26, while the S&P 500 lost 0.85% to 6,092.12 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.07% weaker at 19,841.06.
The Dow opened 438.33 points lower on Thursday, easily reversing gains recorded in the previous session as traders shrugged off further tariff threats from Donald Trump.
However, stocks headed south on Thursday as market participants got stuck into minutes from the FOMC's latest monetary policy meeting after the close.
On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 15 February, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims rose by 5,000 to 219,000 last week, ahead of expectations for a reading of 215,000, while continuing claims were broadly in line with expectations at 1.869m. The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 1,000 week-on-week to 215,250.
Elsewhere, the pace of factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region slowed in February, following a surge during the previous month. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's regional manufacturing sector index slipped from a reading of 44.3 during the first month of the year to 18.1. Consensus estimates had been for a reading of 20.0.
In the corporate space, retail giant Walmart issued weak guidance that overshadowed a solid Q4 trading performance that topped analysts' estimates, while Shake Shack shares surged on the back of stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings that offset lacklustre Q1 guidance.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $86.68 1.26%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $158.66 0.91%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $159.03 0.72%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $39.20 0.72%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $295.95 0.57%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $353.95 0.27%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $415.79 0.25%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.96 0.23%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $245.33 0.19%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.08 0.18%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.44 -6.30%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.79 -3.61%
Boeing Co. (BA) $181.49 -2.50%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $275.71 -1.27%
American Express Co. (AXP) $306.34 -1.16%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $164.70 -1.08%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $661.15 -1.05%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $240.08 -0.94%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.38 -0.87%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $299.42 -0.83%
S&P 500 - Risers
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $68.29 11.69%
LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $42.38 7.56%
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $32.94 6.88%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $90.75 3.52%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $38.84 3.38%
Ansys Inc. (ANSS) $343.54 2.02%
Danaher Corp. (DHR) $208.94 1.93%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $541.11 1.93%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $200.10 1.93%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $5.64 1.90%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $238.90 -9.51%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $24.61 -8.85%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $23.84 -8.63%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $16.31 -7.85%
News Corp Class B (NWS) $32.49 -7.07%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.44 -6.30%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.94 -6.01%
News Corp Class A (NWSA) $28.84 -5.40%
Celanese Corp. (CE) $52.53 -4.33%
DaVita Inc (DVA) $148.99 -3.86%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $68.29 11.69%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $42.42 8.24%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $68.87 4.97%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $91.52 3.96%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $90.75 3.52%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $200.10 1.93%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $177.33 1.88%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $104.51 1.47%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $785.24 1.35%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $244.53 1.19%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.79 -3.61%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $100.83 -3.21%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $351.53 -2.50%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $1,037.15 -2.39%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $15.68 -2.03%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $211.22 -1.84%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $202.79 -1.81%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $223.08 -1.57%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $294.57 -1.50%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $70.43 -1.50%
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