U.S. stocks are falling as investors await Powell remarks; Netflix surges
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks were falling on Thursday, giving back earlier gains as investors anticipated remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell later today amid a continued wave of corporate earnings reports.
At 11:25 ET (15:25 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 102 points or 0.3% while the S&P 500 was down 0.4% and the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.4%.
The main indices on Wall Street closed sharply lower Wednesday after rising bond yields, with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield climbing to its highest level since mid-2007, prompted investors to exit the more risky assets.
The 30-stock Dow closed over 300 points, or 0.3%, lower, while the benchmark S&P fell 1.3% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.6%.
Powell set to speak in New York
Investors are starting to fret that a strong labor market and sticky inflation will prompt the U.S. Federal Reserve to hike interest rates one more time before the end of the year.
New York Fed President John Williams added to these concerns, saying on Wednesday that the Fed will likely keep rates higher for longer for “some time” to rein in inflation toward its 2% target.
This brings Powell into the spotlight, as he is scheduled to speak later at the Economic Club of New York. Investors will be hoping to receive hints as to the direction of monetary policy heading into the last few months of the year.
Other Fed officials, including Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker, are also scheduled to appear.
Israel to allow aid into Gaza
Investors will also keep an eye on developments in the Middle East, with Israel saying it would not block civilian aid from entering Gaza from Egypt, after talks with President Joe Biden, as long as those supplies do not reach Hamas.
Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza is in retaliation for the deadly attacks on Israeli citizens by militants on Oct. 7.
Netflix impresses as subscribers surged in 3Q
The quarterly earnings season continues Thursday after Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) stock surged over paid subscriber numbers that were higher than expectations. The streaming company's subscribers rose 8.8 million in the third quarter, boosted by its efforts to restrict sharing of accounts. Netflix shares rose more than 14.7%.
On the flip side, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) stock fell as the electric vehicle manufacturer’s recent wave of price cuts weighed on margins, with gross margins excluding credits slowing to 16.1% in the third quarter from 18.7% in the previous quarter. Shares fell more than 9.7%.
American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) beat profit expectations and sees fourth quarter adjusted operating margin of 2% to 4%. Shares rose 3.9%. AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) beat expectations and raised its outlook for free cash flow for the year to $16.5 billion. Shares rose 6.8%.
In economic data, new jobless claims were a lower than expected 198,000 last week. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index was a negative 9, lower than the expected negative 6.4. Existing home sales fell to 3.96 million annualized, the slowest pace in 13 years.
Oil retreats on potential supply increase
Oil prices fell Thursday, handing back a lot of the previous session’s sharp gains, as markets awaited more developments in the Israel-Hamas war and the outlook for global supply.
Crude prices climbed about 2% in the previous session on concerns of disruptions to global supplies after Iran called for an oil embargo on Israel over the conflict in Gaza and after the U.S., the world's biggest oil consumer, reported a larger-than-expected inventory draw.
However, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has shown few signs of taking any immediate action on Iran's call, easing worries over potential disruptions.
Prices have also been pressured after a deal was reached between the Venezuelan government and the country's political opposition to ensure fair 2024 elections, potentially allowing the country’s oil flows to reenter the global market after years of sanctions.
(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)
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