Last Updated: 4:13 PM EST
Stock indices finished today’s trading session mixed. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.57% and 0.22%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.06%. On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors released its U.S. Existing Home Sales report, which measures the change in sales of existing residential buildings during the previous month on an annualized basis. Existing home sales for March came in at 4.19 million, below the expected 4.2 million.
As a result, existing home sales decreased month-over-month by -4.3% after a 9.5% increase in February. Interestingly, this is the largest decline since November 2022. It’s also worth mentioning that existing home sales have increased only five times in the past 24 months, as higher interest rates continue to make homeownership difficult.
Furthermore, the Department of Labor released its Initial Jobless Claims report, which came in better than expected. In the past week, 212,000 people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. Expectations were for 215,000 individuals.
First Published: 5:03 AM EST
U.S. futures traded higher on Thursday morning after a weak trading session yesterday. The decline came largely due to weakness in the Magnificent Seven stocks and major chip companies’ stocks. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up by 0.39%, 0.25%, and 0.1%, respectively, at 4:39 a.m. EST, April 18.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices continued their four-day losing streak, closing down 0.58% and 1.15%, respectively. Also, the Dow Jones index fell by 0.12%. The tech stocks led the losses due to heightened geopolitical concerns in the Middle East and lingering uncertainty around the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy.
In major economic reports due today, investors are looking forward to Existing Home Sales Change data for March. This report gives an account of the sales volumes and prices of existing single-family homes, condos, and cooperative housing nationwide.
Furthermore, the Q1 earnings season is gradually picking up pace. Today, Netflix (NFLX), Alaska Air (ALK), Comerica (CMA), Blackstone (BX), and Western Alliance (WAL) are some of the companies reporting their results.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down at the time of writing, floating near 4.57%. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures trended lower, hovering near $81.98 per barrel as of the last check, having lost over 3% in yesterday’s session. Rising demand concerns and strong U.S. oil supply expectations led to the downside.
Elsewhere, European indices opened higher today as investors looked past Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s hawkish remarks on interest rate policy.
Asia-Pacific Markets Closed Higher Today
Most of the Asia-Pacific markets ended the trading day in the green. Investors continued to evaluate the outlook for China’s economy after the recently released strong GDP report. In Japan, traders are looking ahead to Japanese inflation data, to be released tomorrow, to gain insights on the monetary policy path.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.802%. Similarly, China’s Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.09%, but the Shenzhen Component Index fell by 0.05%. Nevertheless, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices gained by 0.31% and 0.54%, respectively.
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