© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., September 28, 2023. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
By Ankika Biswas and Shashwat Chauhan
(Reuters) – The and Nasdaq fell in choppy trading on Thursday as mega-cap stocks remained under pressure as investors eyed the rapid quarterly earnings season and a mixed set of data.
Even after third-quarter results beat expectations, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:) fell 6.3% to a two-month low as the Facebook parent company forecast higher-than-estimated spending in 2024 and suggested that the Middle East conflict could hit fourth-quarter revenue quarter could dampen.
The value was still hovering near the 5 percent mark, although it fell after the data, sending mega-caps Tesla (NASDAQ:) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:) down 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively pulled.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:) fell 2.2% ahead of its after-hours results, while Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:) fell 2.8%, adding to its 9.5% decline on Wednesday.
In terms of data, durable goods rose 4.7% in September, higher than the 1.7% estimate, while jobless claims rose to 210,000 in the week ended Oct. 21, versus the 208,000 expected.
Traders expect the Federal Reserve to maintain policy this year and begin cutting interest rates in mid-2024, even though the U.S. economy posted its fastest growth in nearly two years in the third quarter.
“Jobless claims came in worse than expected, giving the Fed some protection to stay put and not do more in November or hopefully December. Then there are core PCE prices that reinforce this narrative,” said Thomas Hayes. Chairman of Great Hill Capital LLC.
“The Fed is looking at jobs and inflation to see whether it will tighten monetary policy further. So in the case of GDP, good news is good news and it’s a Goldilocks morning of economic data.”
Additionally, United Parcel Service (NYSE:) earnings fell 4.2% after the company cut its full-year revenue forecast, while Comcast (NASDAQ:) fell 5.5% after the media giant reported a surprise customer loss in its Broadband business reported.
Hasbro (NASDAQ:) fell 9.5% after the maker of “Transformers” action figures cut its full-year sales forecast. Mattel (NASDAQ:) fell 10.6% after the Barbie doll maker warned of slowing industry demand ahead of the crucial holiday season.
Mastercard (NYSE:) fell 4.1% after the company forecast weaker-than-expected net sales growth in the fourth quarter.
At 9:53 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 was up 23.05 points, or 0.07%, at 33,058.98, the S&P 500 was down 17.74 points, or 0.42%, at 4,169.03 and the S&P 500 was down 107.48 points or 0.84% to 12,713.74 points.
Five of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors traded lower, with communications services and energy leading the declines.
On the geopolitical front, Israel said its ground forces had moved into the Gaza Strip overnight to attack Hamas targets. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was “preparing for a ground invasion,” which could be one of several.
Advancing issues outnumbered declining issues on the NYSE by a ratio of 1.40 to 1 and by a ratio of 1.14 to 1 on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and 21 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded five new highs and 182 new lows.
Source : www.investing.com