Stock Indexes Rest Near Record Highs Amid Strong GDP and Jobs Reports

Barry Adams
27 Nov, 2024
New York City

Wall Street indexes lacked direction in a holiday-shortened week as investors reviewed the latest updates on GDP and jobless claims. 

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% ahead of the release of the PCE price index at 10:00 a.m. ET. 

The annual personal consumption expenditures price index is expected at 2.3%, and the core index, which excludes food and energy, is likely to rise to 2.8% from 2.7% in the previous month. 

The U.S. GDP growth in the third quarter was estimated at 2.8% in the second estimate, and initial jobless claims stayed near historic low levels, confirming strong economic expansion and historically tight labor market conditions. 

 

U.S. Third Quarter GDP Growth Unrevised 

The U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, matching the preliminary estimate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 

Private inventory investment and nonresidential fixed investment were upwardly revised, and consumer spending and exports were downwardly revised. Imports, which are subtracted in the GDP calculations, were revised down. 

The annual rate of GDP growth in the second quarter was 3.0% and 1.6% in the first quarter. 

 

U.S. Jobless Claims Hover Near Historic Lows 

Initial jobless claims declined by 2,000 to 213,000 in the week ending on November 23, indicating that the job market remains tight. 

Continuing jobless claims, which lag by one week, for the week ending on November 16 increased by 9,000 to 1.907 million, the U.S. Department of Labor said. 

The labor market historically remains strong despite the Federal Reserve's eleven rate hikes over 2022 and 2023, and the latest data gives more room to policymakers to slow down the potential rate cut should inflation remain stubbornly high. 

 

U.S. Indexes and Treasury Yields

The S&P 500 index decreased 0.1% to 6,036.04, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.2% to 19,095.53, and the Russell 2000 index inched lower 0.2% to 2,419.02. 

The yield on 2-year Treasury notes edged lower to 4.22%, 10-year Treasury notes inched lower to 4.26%, and 30-year Treasury bonds decreased to 4.45%.

WTI crude oil increased $0.40 to $69.17 a barrel, and natural gas prices edged down 17 cents to $3.29 a thermal unit.

Gold increased by $18.76 to $2,651.03 an ounce, and silver advanced by $0.02 to $30.42.

The dollar index, which weighs the US currency against a basket of foreign currencies, edged lower by 0.59 to 106.41.

 

U.S. Stock Movers 

Dell Technologies declined 12.8% to $124.32 after the company posted weaker-than-expected fiscal third quarter results. 

HP Inc. dropped 7.7% to $36.09 after the personal computing company estimated weaker-than-expected adjusted earnings in the fiscal 2025 first quarter. 

The company estimated adjusted earnings between 70 cents and 76 cents, sharply lower than as much as 83 cents estimated by some analysts. 

Workday Inc. plunged 12% to $238.0 after the human resource software company estimated lower-than-expected revenue and operating margin in the fourth quarter. 

The software company estimated subscription revenue of $2.025 billion and an operating margin of 25% in the period.