Stock Market News Today, 10/26/23 – Indices Finish Lower, Real Estate Sector Rallies

Last updated: 4:36PM EST

Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the red, as the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped 1.89%, 1.18%, and 0.76%, respectively.

The Communication Services sector (XLC) was the session’s top loser, as it fell 2.18%. Conversely, the Real Estate sector (XLRE) was the session’s leader, with a gain of 2.11%.

Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield saw a slight decrease to 4.85%. Similarly, the Two-Year Treasury yield was also little changed, as it hovers around 5.05%.

Last updated: 3:05PM EST

Stocks are in the red so far in today’s trading session. In addition, WTI crude oil is down as it hovers above $83.25 per barrel. The commodity’s recent downtrend has led to prices at the pump gaining downward momentum across the country.

Indeed, the national average for regular gas was last $3.66 per gallon, down from last week’s reading of $3.706. The highest prices can be found in California, where prices are substantially higher than the national average, at $5.355 per gallon. On the other hand, Georgia is the state with the lowest gas prices, at $2.995 per gallon.

Last updated: 12:20PM EST

Stocks are in the red so far in today’s trading. On Thursday, the National Association of Realtors released its Pending Home Sales report, which measures the month-over-month change in the number of home sales that have yet to close but are contracted to be sold. This measure excludes homes that are newly constructed.

During September, Pending Home Sales increased by 1.1% compared to August, which was better than the expected -1.8% decrease. This is after a -7.1% decrease in the previous report.

However, the Pending Home Sales Index came in at 72.6, which is lower than the 80.8 reading from the same time last year. This equates to an approximate decline of 10.1% on a year-over-year basis

Last updated: 9:30AM EST

Stocks opened lower on Thursday morning after the data indicated that the U.S. GDP grew at its fastest pace over the past two years. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX) and the S&P 500 (SPX), are down by 0.03% and 0.08%, respectively, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was up by 0.11%, at 9:30 a.m. EST, October 26.

The U.S. economy’s GDP grew at an annualized rate of 4.9% in the third quarter, exceeding the economists’ forecasts of an increase of 4.2% and up from the 2.1% rise in Q2. This was the strongest quarter since the fourth quarter of 2021. The rise in GDP was increasingly driven by consumer spending, businesses stocking up on inventory, exports, and spending by local and state governments.

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims for the week ended October 21 jumped by 10,000 to 210,000, which was more than consensus estimates of 208,000 and 198,000 in the prior week. Continuing jobless claims stood at 1.79 million versus forecasts of 1.73 million and prior figures of 1.74 million.

Orders for durable goods advanced by 4.7% in September to $297.2 billion as compared to forecasts of a 1.7% rise. This increase in orders came after two straight months of declines. Orders for core durable goods (excluding transportation), went up by 0.5%, more than consensus forecasts of 0.2%.

First published: 4:08AM EST

U.S. Futures are declining on Thursday morning as Tech earnings continue to weigh on investor sentiment. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) are down by 1.18%, 0.66%, and 0.24%, respectively, at 4:05 a.m. EST, October 26.

All three major averages ended the trading day in the negative zone on October 25. In the meantime, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield continues to rise, floating near 4.97% at the time of writing. And the WTI crude oil futures are hovering near $85.30 per barrel as of the last check.

Today, traders await the Weekly Jobless Claims data, preliminary Q3 GDP figures, and Durable Goods Order data. Additionally, the Q3 earnings report of e-commerce giant Amazon.com (AMZN) will take center stage. Other notable earnings release today include Ford Motor (F), Mastercard (MA), Intel (INTC), UPS (UPS), and Chipotle (CMG), among others.

Meanwhile, Meta Platforms (META) stock dipped in after-hours trading yesterday despite posting a solid Q3FY23 beat. The management’s forecast of widening losses at the Reality Labs division could be a reason for the share price drop. Further, Meta cautioned about increasing legal and regulatory headwinds. Also, Alphabet stock (GOOGL) lost 9.5% yesterday after it reported a decelerating performance of the Cloud business in Q3FY23 results. Further, Align Technology stock (ALGN) tanked 25.5% in extended trading on underwhelming Q3 estimates and poor guidance.

In a strategic move, just ahead of its earnings, Ford (F) announced a tentative labor deal with the UAW union, ending the weeks-long strike at its plants. The contract is subject to UAW workers’ approval, but UAW President Shawn Fain has asked employees to return to their duties while the ratification process is ongoing. The deal puts additional pressure on General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (STLA) to agree on a labor deal at the earliest.

Elsewhere, European indices are trading in the red on Thursday as traders parse through disappointing corporate earnings. Moreover, the European Central Bank is set to announce its interest rate decision today, with markets largely expecting a pause in the rate hike cycle.

Asia-Pacific Markets Mostly End Lower on Thursday

A majority of Asia-Pacific indices finished lower on Thursday, following their U.S. counterparts. Australian shares dipped to their 52-week lows after the country’s inflation figure for the September quarter came in higher than expected yesterday.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended lower by 0.24%, while China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices bucked the trend, ending higher by 0.48% and 0.40%, respectively.

Similarly, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices ended down by 2.14% and 1.34%, respectively.

Interested in more economic insights? Tune in to our LIVE webinar.

Disclosure