US stocks swung back to negative territory around midday, after initially posting moderate gains, on Thursday extending losses from the previous session brought by the Federal Reserve's decision to raise benchmark interest rates and signals that it would continue to let its massive balance sheet shrink at its current pace.
In economic news, the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey showed new unemployment claims bounced 8,000 to 214,000 in the Dec. 15 week compared with the 220,000 level seen by forecasters.
The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index slid 3.5 points to 9.4 in December, weaker than the 16.5 forecast, after dropping 9.3 points to 12.9 in November.
The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.2% to 111.8 in November, above consensus for no change, after falling 0.3% in October to 111.6 (revised down from 112.1).
In Europe, equities also took a hard hit from the disappointing policy decision of the Federal Reserve.
Crude oil is down 3.82% to $46.33 per barrel. Natural gas is down 0.20% to $3.499 per 1 million BTU. Gold is up 0.37% to $1,261.00 an ounce, while silver is down 0.22% to $14.785 an ounce. Copper is down 1.22% to $2.683 per pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund is down 2.10% to $9.81 with the United States Natural Gas Fund is down 0.36% to $29.78. Among precious-metal funds, the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF is up 3.60% to $20.56 while SPDR Gold Shares is up 0.35% to $118.98. The iShares Silver Trust is up 0.95% to $13.82.
Here's where the markets stand at mid-day:
US MARKETS
NYSE Composite Index is down 0.39% to 11,327.34
Dow Jones Industrial Index is down 1.17% to 23,051.70
S&P 500 is down 1.03% to 2,481.12
Nasdaq Composite Index is down 1.36% to 6,546.45
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 is down 0.71% to 6,719.34
DAX is down 1.46% to 10,609.21
CAC 40 is down 1.76% to 4,692.83
Nikkei 225 is down 2.84% to 20,392.58
Hang Seng Index is down 0.94% to 25,623.53
Shanghai China Composite Index is down 0.52% to 2,536.27
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index is down 0.59% to 9,375.22
NYSE Financial Sector Index is down 0.21% to 6,936.18
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index is down 0.57% to 14,824.73
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) AGEN (+28.4%) Sign collaboration deal with Gilead to develop immuno-oncology therapies
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) AMD (-2.4%) Added to Nasdaq-100 index
(-) MNKD (-33.3%) Prices $40 million offering of stock and warrants
(-) WBA (-4.7%) Fiscal Q1 revenue misses Street expectation
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
