Last Updated: 4:05 PM EST
Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the green. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.45%, 0.53%, and 0.38%, respectively.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor released its Initial Jobless Claims report, which came in better than expected. In the past week, 207,000 people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. Expectations were for 224,000 individuals.
In addition, Continuing Jobless Claims, which measures the number of unemployed people who qualify for unemployment insurance, came in at 1.858 million. This was below the forecast of 1.89 million and lower than last week’s print of 1.9 million.
Separately, the U.S. housing market experienced a decline in pending home sales in December, which marked the first drop since July. High borrowing costs and rising prices, particularly in the country’s most expensive regions, contributed to the decline. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), contract signings fell 5.5% to 74.2 in December, according to its index.
The biggest declines happened in the West and Northeast regions, which saw their largest monthly drops since 2022. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, attributed the decline to reduced affordability in these high-priced regions, where elevated mortgage rates have taken a toll.
Indeed, rising mortgage rates, which have rebounded to over 7% since September, and continued home price growth have created a challenging environment for homebuyers. In fact, nationwide home prices rose 3.8% in November compared to the previous year. As a result, the decline in pending home sales is a concerning sign for the housing market, which experienced its worst year since 1995 in 2024.
In addition, fourth-quarter GDP results came out today, which saw the economy expand by 2.3%. However, this was lower than the 2.7% that was expected.
First Published: 3:45 AM EST
U.S. futures edged higher on Thursday morning as investors digested a mixed bag of earnings reports from major tech companies. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the S&P 500 (SPX) were up 0.73%, 0.31%, and 0.46%, respectively, at 3:24 a.m. EST, January 30.
On Wednesday, all three major indices witnessed a decline. The Dow Jones closed by 0.3%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite (NDAQ) declined 0.5% each.
The fall can be partly attributed to a 4% drop in Nvidia (NVDA) stock due to concerns over increased AI competition. The market also reacted to the Federal Reserve’s decision to pause its interest rate-cutting cycle. The Fed noted that inflation remains “somewhat elevated,” suggesting a cautious approach to future monetary policy.
In the extended trading session, Tesla (TSLA) stock price rose 4%. CEO Elon Musk’s optimistic growth projections for 2025 and beyond helped offset concerns over TSLA’s weaker-than-expected Q4 results. Also, Meta Platforms (META) gained 2% on beating Q4 earnings and revenue estimates. However, Microsoft (MSFT) stock fell about 5% due to lower-than-anticipated growth in its Azure cloud services.
On the economic front, several key reports are slated for release today, such as the fourth-quarter GDP reading, Initial Jobless Claims data, and December’s Pending Home Sales reports.
Further, the focus now shifts to earnings release from another Magnificent Seven company, Apple (AAPL), due today. Other companies reporting their quarterly numbers today include Intel (INTC), Mastercard (MA), Visa (V), Southwest Airlines (LUV), Caterpillar (CAT), and United Parcel Service (UPS).
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down, floating near 4.514%. Simultaneously, WTI crude oil futures are trending lower, hovering near $72.57 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European indices opened higher on Thursday ahead of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) first monetary policy decision for 2025. The ECB is expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.
Japanese Market Ended Higher on Thursday
Japanese indices closed in the green today as investors evaluated the U.S. central bank’s decision to hold interest rates steady. Today, Japan’s Topix and Nikkei indices closed higher by 0.23% and 0.25%, respectively.
Investors should note that the China and Hong Kong stock markets were closed today for the Lunar New Year holidays.
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