Economic Data and Market Reactions - Retail sales were flat in October, slightly below economists' expectations of a 0.1% increase, with analysts suggesting potential distortion due to slow data collection from a recent government shutdown [1][8] - Nonfarm payrolls increased by 64,000 jobs in November, following a decline in October, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% amid economic uncertainty linked to President Trump's trade policies [8] - Investors are anticipating interest rate cuts of at least 58 basis points next year, significantly higher than the 25 basis points indicated by the Federal Reserve [8] Stock Market Performance - The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 302.30 points (0.62%) to 48,114.26, while the S&P 500 lost 16.25 points (0.24%) to 6,800.26, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 54.05 points (0.23%) to 23,111.46 [8] - Eight of the 11 S&P 500 major industry sectors closed down, with energy stocks leading the decline, falling nearly 3%, and crude prices reaching their lowest level since 2021 [5][8] - Health stocks decreased by 1.28%, with Pfizer slipping 3.4% due to forecasts of challenging sales in 2026, and Humana falling 6% after announcing leadership changes [8] Notable Company Movements - Comcast shares rose by 5.4% following speculation about potential involvement from an activist investor [6][8] - B. Riley's stock surged by 53.8% after reporting a profit for the second quarter, contrasting with a loss in the previous year [8] - Nasdaq has submitted paperwork to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for round-the-clock trading of stocks, following similar announcements from the New York Stock Exchange and Cboe Global Markets [6][8] Market Breadth and Trading Volume - On the NYSE, declining issues outnumbered advancers by a ratio of 1.63-to-1, with 127 new highs and 88 new lows recorded [7][8] - The Nasdaq saw 2,064 stocks rise and 2,596 fall, with a declining issues to advancers ratio of 1.26-to-1 [7][8] - Total trading volume on U.S. exchanges was 16.70 billion shares, slightly below the 20-day average of 16.99 billion shares [9]
Wall Street ends mixed, healthcare and energy stocks weigh on S&P