Wall Street’s main indices ended modestly lower on Thursday in a choppy session as hawkish comments from a US Federal Reserve official and data showing the labor market remained tight led some investors to worry about more aggressive interest rate hikes.Stock Market Today
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 7.51 points, or 0.02 percent, to 33,546.32, the S&P 500 lost 12.23 points, or 0.31 percent, to 3,946.56 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 38.70 points, or 0.35 percent, to 11,144.96.
Asian Markets
Asian markets were trading on a mixed note in the early session on November 18. The Nikkei 225 was up 0.3 percent or 82.76 points at 28,013 level while Kospi added 0.89 percent, up 21.64 points at 2,464 mark. Hang Seng was however down 1.15 percent and was trading at 18,045, down 210 points.Stock Market Today
SGX Nifty
Trends in the SGX Nifty indicate a positive opening for the broader index in India with a gain of 42 points today. Stock Market TodayThe Nifty futures were trading around 18,417 levels on the Singaporean exchange.
US weekly jobless claims drop; housing market struggling
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, showing widespread layoffs remain low despite a surge in technology-sector job cuts that has raised fears of an imminent recession.
The weekly unemployment claims report from the Labor Stock Market Today Department on Thursday, the most timely data on the economy’s health, suggested the labor market remained tight.Stock Market Today That, together with strong retail sales growth in October, will keep the Federal Reserve on track to continue raising interest rates, though at a slower pace amid signs inflation is starting to subside.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended November 12,Stock Market Today the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 225,000 claims for the latest week.
Japan’s inflation hits 40-year high as weak yen fans import costs
Japan’s core consumer inflation accelerated to a 40-year high in October as a weak yen pushed up the cost of imported commodities, which were already surging due to global supply constraints. The data suggests Japanese firms may be shaking off their deflationary mindset as they gradually raise prices of everything from fuel to food in response to higher costs.
The nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes volatile fresh food prices but includes energy, was 3.6 percent higher in October than a year earlier, versus a 3.5 percent rise expected by economists, and accelerating from the prior month’s 3.0 percent annual gain.
Citi launches block deal to sell Nykaa shares worth Rs 1,000 crore
Citigroup has launched a block deal to sell shares in cosmetics-to-fashion retailer Nykaa, worth $125 million or Rs 1,000 crore, CNBC Awaaz reported on November 17.Stock Market Today The report comes days after the lock-in expiry for pre-IPO investors in cosmetics-to-fashion retailer ended.
The block deal involves TPG Capital as the seller, the news channel reported, adding that the deal offers a discount of up to 0.5 percent on the current market price.
Fed official suggests substantial rate hikes may be needed
The Federal Reserve may have to raise its benchmark interest rate much higher than it has previously projected to get inflation under control, James Bullard, who leads the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, said Thursday.
Bullard’s comments raised the prospect that the Fed’s rate hikes will make borrowing by consumers and businesses even costlier and further heighten the risk of recession. Wall Street traders registered their concern by sending stock market futures further into the red early Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 330 points shortly before trading began.
Bullard’s remarks followed speeches by other Fed officials in recent days that suggested they see only limited progress, at most, in their use of steadily higher rates to fight inflation.
FII and DII data
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have net bought shares worth Rs 618.37 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) net purchased shares worth Rs 449.22 crore on November 17, as per provisional data available on the NSE.
Oil falls on worries of US rate hikes, China demand outlook
Oil prices fell more than 3 percent on Thursday, with demand squeezed by mounting Covid-19 cases in China and fears of more aggressive hikes in US interest rates. Brent crude fell $3.08 to settle at $89.78 a barrel, down 3.3 percent. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slid $3.95, or 4.6 percent, to settle at $81.64 per barrel.
Stocks under F&O ban on NSE
Six stocks – Balrampur Chini Mills, BHEL, Delta Corp, Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers and Chemicals, Indiabulls Housing Finance, and Sun TV Network – are under NSE F&O ban list for November 18. Securities thus banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts have crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.
