US equities were trading with narrow losses Thursday after the United States signaled it will impose tariffs on aluminum and steel imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union, while traders were also keeping an eye on the latest developments in Italian politics.
In economic news, new unemployment claims came in at 221,000 in the May 26 week vs estimates for 224,000 and 234,000 in the prior week. Personal income, consumer spending and the PCE price index posted gains of 0.3%, 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively, in April compared with estimates for gains of 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.2%. The Chicago business barometer index surged 5.1 points to a reading of 62.7 vs expectations for 58.3. Pending home sales unexpectedly fell 1.3% in April from March vs economists' expectations for a 0.4% gain.
In Europe, equities markets also turned negative on the proposed new tariffs by the US. Germany's DAX index led the losses in the continent amid growing fears of US protectionism against German luxury carmakers.
Crude oil is down 1.29% to $67.31 per barrel. Natural gas is up 2.95% to $2.97 per 1 million BTU. Gold is up 0.05% to $1,307.10 an ounce, while silver is down 0.21% to $16.51 an ounce. Copper is down 0.05% to $306.75 per pound.
Among energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund is down 1.95% to $13.56 with the United States Natural Gas Fund is up 2.52% to $23.96. Among precious-metal funds, the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF is unchanged at $22.74 while SPDR Gold Shares is down 0.06% to $123.30. The iShares Silver Trust is down 0.10% to $15.54.
Here's where the markets stand at mid-day:
US MARKETS
NYSE Composite Index is down 0.61% to 12,549.26
Dow Jones Industrial Index is down 0.66% to 24,504.94
S&P 500 is down 0.22% to 2,718.04
Nasdaq Composite Index is up 0.30% to 7,484.82
GLOBAL SENTIMENT
FTSE 100 is up 0.75% to 7,689.57
DAX is down 1.40% to 12,604.89
CAC 40 is down 0.53% to 5,398.40
Nikkei 225 is up 0.40% to 22,106.03
Hang Seng Index is up 0.62% to 30,241.65
Shanghai China Composite Index is up 1.05% to 3,073.30
NYSE SECTOR INDICES
NYSE Energy Sector Index is down 0.35% to 12,084.75
NYSE Financial Sector Index is down 0.46% to 7,898.15
NYSE Healthcare Sector Index is down 0.51% to 14,368.15
UPSIDE MOVERS
(+) GM (+10.3%) SoftBank Vision Fund to invest $2.25 billion in GM's autonomous vehicle program
(+) AKER (+30.2%) Granted 180-day extension to regain Nasdaq listing compliance
(+) MDGL (+143.8%) Says thyroid hormone receptor beta-selective agonist attained liver biopsy endpoints in trial
DOWNSIDE MOVERS
(-) DLTR (-12.1%) Fiscal Q1 results miss views
(-) GLNG (-21.1%) Plans to wind down joint venture with Schlumberger
(-) DG (-8.2%) Q1 results miss expectations
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.
