Wall Street closed flat on Thursday after a day of stock market bloodbath. Investors took stock of the central bank’s rate warnings while jobs data confirmed Fed chair Jerome Powell’s views about the labor market. The U.S. 10-year treasury yield hit a seven-month high. All of the three most widely followed indexes closed the session flat.

How Did the Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose less than 0.1% or 15.37 points, to close at 42,342.34. Eighteen components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 12 ended in negative.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 19.92 points, or 0.1%, to close at 19,372.77.

The S&P 500 lost 5.08 points, or 0.1%, to close at 5,867.08. Eight of the 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index closed in the red. The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR (XLRE), the Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB) and Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) declined 1.7%, 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively, while the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) gained 0.5%.

The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) decreased 12.8% to 24.09. A total of 16.3 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 14.5 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers by a 2.18-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while on the Nasdaq Composite, declining issues had a 1.30-to-1 advantage.

Markets Have a Flat Session as Jobless Claims Fall

Markets had a muted session as investors continued to consider the message given by Fed chair Jerome Powell at the conclusion of the FOMC meeting in the previous session. In September, the Fed had forecasted at least three 25 basis point (bp) rate cuts for 2025, but currently it expects two.

Powell said the previous day that the "downside risks of the labor market do appear to have diminished," adding that "the U.S. economy has just been remarkable, I feel very good about where the economy is." Economic data released on the day is also mirroring what Powell said.

The Labor Department said on Thursday that initial jobless claims were 220,000, decreasing by 22,000 for the week ended Dec. 14 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 242,000. The four-week moving average was 225,500, marking a rise of 1,250 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 224,250.

Continuing claims came in at 1,874,000 for the week ended Dec. 7, decreasing by 5,000 from last week’s revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 7,000 from 1,886,000 to 1,879,000. The four-week moving average was 1,880,250, a decrease of 6,000 from the prior week's revised average. Last week's average was revised down by 1,750 from 1,888,000 to 1,886,250.

Also, real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.1% in the third quarter of 2024, according to the “third” estimate. This is against a general consensus of 2.9% and because of robust consumer spending. This, too, falls in line with Powell’s claims.

Consequently, Shares of Chevron Corporation CVX and CBRE Group, Inc. CBRE fell 2% and 2.5%, respectively. CBRE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Benchmark 10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 7-Month High

The yield on the U.S. 10-year treasury note, a benchmark that sets interest rates on mortgages, closed at 4.569% on Thursday, its highest since May, a seven-month high.Given the Fed predicts fewer rate cuts in 2025, the bond market should have rejoiced and yields should have gone down. However, they are rising on inflation concerns.

Economic Data

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales in November 2024 totaled 4.15 million units sold. The number for October was unrevised at 3.96 million units sold.

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