- The Dow Jones falls 0.23% on the day.
- The Nasdaq 100 loses 011% in Thursday trading.
- The S&P 500 fell 0.07% daily.
The Dow Jones registers a drop of 0.18% after a higher than estimated increase in weekly unemployment benefit applications.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average began trading at 44,804, while the Nasdaq 100 technology index began trading at 21,490. The S&P 500 opened at 6,085, ending a five-session winning streak.
UnitedHealth and Salesforce Inc drag the Dow into negative territory
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading at 44.890 at the time of writing, down 0.23%, consolidating within Wednesday’s operating range.
UnitedHealth (UNH) stock falls 2.95%, hitting Nov. 22 lows of 589.40. UHN flashes back two days to the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of the company’s insurance division. On the other hand, Salesforce (CRM) loses 1.78% today, remaining in the price range of the previous session.
The Nasdaq 100 is trading lower, weighed down by Synopsys
The Nasdaq 100 technological index falls 0.15% daily, after registering a new all-time high at 21,500, currently trading above 21,458, ending a streak of five consecutive sessions with gains.
Synopsys (SNPS) shares plummeted 11.65% in Thursday’s session, reaching lows not seen since November 19 at 516.10 after publishing its quarterly report. SNPS posted revenue of $1.64 billion versus $1.63 billion, as well as earnings per share of $3.4 versus $3.3 expected. Despite these figures, SNPS values are punished by investors due to the reduction of the company’s projections for the next quarter.
The S&P 500 trades with marginal losses after setting a new all-time high
The S&P 500 index operates practically flat after reaching a new all-time high at 6,091 today.
Based on information from the Department of Labor, weekly claims for unemployment benefits increased to 224,000 in the week ending November 29, exceeding estimates and the previous record of 215,000. The focus of investors will be on the speech by Thomas Barkin, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
Technical analysis of the Nasdaq 100
The Nasdaq 100 formed short-term support given by the November 27 low at 20,611. The next key support area is seen at 19,882, the pivot point of October 31. To the north, the 22,000 zone is projected as a profit-taking area as it converges with the 1.272 Fibonacci extension.
Nasdaq 100 4-hour chart
The Dow Jones FAQs
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the world’s oldest stock indices, is made up of the 30 most traded securities in the United States. The index is weighted by price rather than capitalization. It is calculated by adding the prices of the securities that comprise it and dividing them by a factor, currently 0.152. The index was founded by Charles Dow, also founder of the Wall Street Journal. In recent years it has been criticized for not being sufficiently representative, since it only follows 30 companies, unlike broader indices such as the S& P 500.
There are many factors that drive the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA). The main one is the aggregate performance of its component companies, revealed in quarterly corporate earnings reports. US and global macroeconomic data also contribute, influencing investor sentiment. The level of interest rates, set by the Federal Reserve (Fed), also influences the DJIA, as it affects the cost of credit, on which many companies largely depend. Therefore, inflation can be a determining factor, as well as other parameters that influence the decisions of the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Theory is a method for identifying the main trend of the stock market developed by Charles Dow. A key step is to compare the direction of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Dow Jones Transportation Average (DJTA) and only follow trends where they are both moving in the same direction. Volume is a confirmation criterion. The theory uses elements of maximum and minimum analysis. The Dow theory proposes three phases of the trend: accumulation, when the smart money begins to buy or sell; public participation, when the general public joins the trend; and distribution, when the smart money abandons the trend.
There are several ways to trade the DJIA. One of them is to use ETFs that allow investors to trade the DJIA as a single security, instead of having to buy shares of the 30 companies that comprise it. A prominent example is the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA). Futures contracts on the DJIA allow traders to speculate on the future value of the index, and options provide the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell the index at a predetermined price in the future. Mutual funds allow investors to purchase a portion of a diversified portfolio of DJIA securities, providing exposure to the global index.
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
