Wall Street dips as investors digest data after strong rally
Warner Bros Discovery gains on plan to split TV, streaming units
Adobe drops after forecasting 2025 revenue below estimates
Centene rises after guiding 2025 profit above expectations
Indexes down: Dow 0.33%, S&P 500 0.24%, Nasdaq 0.23%
Updates with investor comment in paragraphs 4-5, share prices throughout
By Echo Wang
NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) -Wall Street edged lower on Thursday as investors assessed key economic data ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting next week.
The Nasdaq surged past the 20,000 mark for the first time on Wednesday, fueled by a relentless rally in technology stocks. The S&P 500 climbed to its highest level in nearly a week, as an inflation report aligning with expectations cemented bets on a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed's Dec. 17-18 meeting.
Initial claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly climbed last week, raising concerns over labor-market resilience. U.S. producer prices rose more than forecast in November, though a moderation in service costs pointed to a continuation of the broader disinflationary trend.
"Investors are just trying to suss out what is the Fed going to do next week? Is inflation really going to be a problem and the Fed has to really slow its role on rate cuts, or can they get there?" said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle.
Haworth added there was profit-taking after the Nasdaq touched an all-time high on Wednesday.
Trader bets on the cut next week stand at over 98%, according to CME's FedWatch Tool. However, they indicate expectations of a pause in January after several Fed officials last week urged caution over the pace of monetary policy easing as the economy remained resilient.
At 1:50 p.m. EST (1950 GMT) the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 144.71 points, or 0.33%, to 44,004.27, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 14.59 points, or 0.24%, to 6,069.60 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 46.62 points, or 0.23%, to 19,988.28.
Eight of the 11 major S&P sub-sectors were trading lower, with the healthcare sector .SPXHC at the bottom with a 0.6% decline.
Megacap and growth stocks showed a mixed performance, with Nvidia NVDA.O slipping 0.78%, while Microsoft MSFT.O rose 1.12%.
Adobe ADBE.O plunged 13.27% after the Photoshop maker forecast fiscal 2025 revenue below Wall Street expectations, weighing on the broader technology sector.
Wall Street's main indexes have hit record highs multiple times this year, fueled by a rally in heavyweight tech stocks that capitalized on enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence and the Fed's interest-rate cuts.
U.S. equities concluded a strong November following Donald Trump's presidential election victory, buoyed by expectations of business-friendly policies boosting corporate profits, and have started December on a broadly positive trajectory.
Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O soared 14.97% after the media company announced plans to separate its declining cable-TV business from streaming and studio operations.
Nordson NDSN.O slid 9% as the dispensing-equipment maker forecast fiscal 2025 revenue below Wall Street estimates, while health insurer Centene CNC.N rose 2.41% after forecasting its 2025 profit above estimates.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.24-to-1 ratio on the New York Stock Exchange. There were 94 new highs and 75 new lows on the NYSE.
The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and seven new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 77 new highs and 116 new lows.
Nasdaq over the last 20 years https://tmsnrt.rs/4g5eOIu
Reporting by Echo Wang in New York; Additional reporting by Purvi Agarwal and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Rod Nickel
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
