US stocks closed mixed today. The Dow Jones index, which includes the shares of thirty leading American companies, weakened under pressure from Cisco and Walmart. It lost 0.13 percent and ended trading at 34,945.47 points. The broader S&P 500 index rose 0.12 percent to 4,508.24 points and the Nasdaq Composite index, which includes many companies from the advanced technology sector, rose 0.07 percent to 14,113.67 points.
Stock Market Impact of Corporate Developments
Shares of Cisco Systems, which deals with communication and network technologies, fell by almost ten percent today. The company previously lowered its full-year revenue and profit guidance due to declining demand for networking equipment.
Retail giant Walmart raised its forecast for full-year profit and sales, but at the same time noted that American consumers are watching their spending due to inflation. The company’s shares dropped over eight percent today. On Wednesday, they closed at a record 169.78 USD. Other companies in the industry reacted to the drop in Walmart shares. Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Target closed with losses.
Market Dynamics and Central Bank Influence
The three main US stock indexes rose in the previous four sessions, which was helped, among other things, by data indicating a cooling of inflation in the US and growing hopes that the US central bank (Fed) has stopped raising interest rates.
Currency Market Fluctuations and Economic Indicators
On the foreign exchange markets today, the dollar weakened after the report on the US labor market, but later erased the losses. The dollar index, which expresses the value of the dollar against a basket of six major world currencies, around 22:15 CET strengthened by hundreds of percent compared to the previous close and hovered around 104.427 points. The euro was also more or less flat against the dollar at $1.0849. The dollar was down 0.4 percent against the Japanese yen at 150.75 yen, while the euro was also down 0.4 percent at 163.55 yen.
The number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the United States rose more than expected, indicating a cooling labor market. The market anticipates that the Fed could start cutting interest rates early next year.
Source: čtk
