Last Updated: 4:10PM EST
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Stock indices finished today’s trading session little changed, as the S&P 500 (SPX), the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) finished near the flatline.
Furthermore, the U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield increased to 3.84%, an increase of four basis points. Similarly, the Two-Year Treasury yield also increased, as it hovers around 4.28%.
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 November, Pending Home Sales remained flat compared to October, which was worse than the expected 1% increase. This is after a -1.2% decrease in the previous report.
In addition, the Pending Home Sales Index came in at 71.6, which is lower than the 75 reading from the same time last year. This equates to an approximate decline of 4.53% on a year-over-year basis.
Last Updated: 9:37AM EST
U.S. indices rose on Thursday morning after traders received the latest print on jobs and wholesale inventories. The S&P 500 (SPX), the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up by 0.17%, 0.31%, and 0.15%, respectively, at 9:37 a.m. EST, December 28.
The Initial Jobless Claims for the week ended December 23 rose by 12,000 to 218,000. Continuing claims came in at 1.875 million. November’s Wholesale Inventories, on the other hand, edged lower by 0.2% to $895.7 billion. Compared to the prior year, wholesale inventories declined by 3.1%.
Moving on to key stock-related headlines, General Motors (NYSE:GM) is seeking millions in back taxes and penalties from San Francisco. In addition, Baidu’s (NASDAQ:BIDU) Ernie Bot now has over 100 million users in the Chinese market. However, the chatbot still lags the latest version of ChatGPT in performance.
Furthermore, Apple (AAPL) witnessed a major win yesterday. A U.S. appeals court temporarily lifted an import ban that had led to the tech giant pause sales of some of its popular smartwatches. Moreover, the stock of biopharmaceutical company Cytokinetics (CYTK) jumped nearly 83% yesterday after its promising heart drug, aficamten, delivered positive Phase 3 trial results.
Meanwhile, oil prices declined at the time of writing as traders continued to track the developments in the Red Sea. The WTI crude oil futures were down 1.2% to $73.22 per barrel as of the last check.
Asia-Pacific Markets End Mixed on Thursday
Asia-Pacific indices ended Thursday’s trading session on a mixed note.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index closed 2.52% higher, and China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices ended up by 1.38% and 2.71%, respectively.
In contrast, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices finished today’s trading session lower by 0.42% and 0.14%, respectively.
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