US close: Stocks sharply lower as traders digest FOMC minutes
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 20 Feb 2025
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks closed sharply lower Thursday, knocking the S&P 500 from its record close.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.01% at 44,176.65, while the S&P 500 lost 0.43% to 6,117.52 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.47% weaker at 19,962.36.
The Dow closed 450.94 points lower on Thursday, easily reversing gains recorded in the previous session as traders got stuck into minutes from the FOMC's latest monetary policy meeting, which revealed that central bank officials agreed they would need to see inflation come down more before lowering interest rates further and expressed fears around Donald Trump's tariffs.
"Participants indicated that, provided the economy remained near maximum employment, they would want to see further progress on inflation before making additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate," said the minutes. :Participants generally pointed to upside risks to the inflation outlook upside risks to the inflation outlook."
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) $87.68 2.43%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $39.59 1.72%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $26.09 1.44%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $297.93 1.24%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $159.70 1.14%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.47 1.11%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $158.89 1.06%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $77.20 0.55%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $167.27 0.47%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $245.83 0.39%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.21 -6.53%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $266.74 -4.48%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $642.26 -3.87%
Boeing Co. (BA) $180.88 -2.83%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.51 -2.59%
American Express Co. (AXP) $303.86 -1.96%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $318.43 -1.88%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $502.42 -1.69%
Visa Inc. (V) $350.24 -1.40%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $349.03 -1.12%
S&P 500 - Risers
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $69.06 12.95%
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $33.44 8.50%
LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $41.75 5.96%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $27.11 5.46%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $107.31 4.16%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $203.96 3.89%
Macy's Inc. (M) $15.79 3.00%
Ball Corp (BALL) $50.49 2.95%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $12.01 2.78%
Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $29.97 2.64%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $243.97 -7.59%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $16.51 -6.73%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.21 -6.53%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $24.56 -5.88%
DaVita Inc (DVA) $145.92 -5.83%
News Corp Class B (NWS) $32.94 -5.78%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $97.20 -5.63%
News Corp Class A (NWSA) $28.85 -5.38%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $25.69 -4.83%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $134.33 -4.52%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $69.06 12.95%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $41.19 5.10%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $68.73 4.76%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $203.96 3.89%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.88 2.95%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $110.03 2.21%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $11.33 2.07%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $366.81 1.90%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $89.65 1.84%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $480.33 1.82%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $97.20 -5.63%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $291.02 -2.69%
Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $1,034.83 -2.61%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $10.51 -2.59%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $101.48 -2.58%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $197.87 -1.94%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $1,024.27 -1.83%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $5,018.23 -1.81%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $219.05 -1.81%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $354.40 -1.71%
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