US close: Stocks finish firmer as investors focus on stimulus, election
Wall Street stocks finished firmer on Thursday, as the upcoming US election and stimulus talks were firmly in focus.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.54% at 23,363.66 and the S&P 500 added 0.52% to 3,453.49, while the Nasdaq Composite managed gains of 0.19% to 11,506.01.
The Dow closed 152.84 points higher on Thursday, reversing the losses it recorded at the open, as US Director of National Intelligence John Ratfcliffe accused Russia and Iran late on Wednesday of trying to interfere with the 2020 US presidential election.
Ratfcliffe said that merely weeks ahead of election day, foreign actors were seeking to undermine Americans’ confidence in the integrity of the vote and to spread misinformation.
"We have confirmed that some voter registration information has been obtained by Iran, and separately, by Russia," he stated.
Ratcliffe added that government officials "have already seen Iran sending spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President Trump".
Elsewhere, talks between US lawmakers to thrash out a new fiscal stimulus package were said to be progressing and may be ready soon.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: "We're on a good path. We're coming closer."
She also added that legislation might be ready "pretty soon".
Pelosi and US Treasury Secretary, Steve Mnuchin, will continue negotiations on a spending package worth roughly $2.0trn later in the day.
On the macro front, weekly jobless data surprised to the downside, with both initial and secondary claims retreating. According to the Department of Labor, initial jobless claims for the week ended 17 October dropped by 55,000 to 787,000, better than consensus estimates for a print of 885,000.
The four-week moving average also dropped, down 21,500 to 811,250 and secondary claims for the seven days ended 10 October fell by 1.02m to 8.37m.
Elsewhere in data, existing-home sales increased for the fourth consecutive month in September, with the US housing market benefitting yet again from low interest rates.
Total existing-home sales rose 9.4% month-on-month to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 6.54m, according to the National Association of Realtors.
On a year-on-year basis, home sales were up nearly 21%.
Lastly, the Conference Board's leading economic index rose 0.7% in September, following increases of 1.4% in August and 2% in July, indicating that the US economy's expansion had again slowed.
In corporate news, Coca-Cola was ahead 1.36% after it topped earnings estimates despite reporting a 9% fall in quarterly revenues, while Southwest Airlines rose 5.22% after it reported its largest-ever loss amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
AT&T gained 5.84% after it posted a decline in total operating revenues during the quarter.
Dow Jones - Risers
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $126.14 6.80%
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $34.86 3.44%
Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) $62.80 2.55%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $102.88 2.50%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $73.40 2.40%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $127.56 2.09%
American Express Co. (AXP) $104.79 1.60%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $79.23 1.20%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $130.02 1.19%
Boeing Co. (BA) $169.07 1.09%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $281.16 -1.71%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $115.76 -1.37%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $205.40 -1.26%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $115.75 -0.96%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $141.45 -0.72%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $38.82 -0.61%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $143.55 -0.24%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $37.43 -0.16%
3M Co. (MMM) $170.81 -0.14%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $453.23 34.97%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $23.10 11.86%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $21.15 11.14%
Macy's Inc. (M) $7.01 10.57%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $13.57 10.24%
Snap On Inc. (SNA) $169.45 9.37%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $101.04 9.00%
Twitter Inc (TWTR) $50.28 8.48%
People's United Financial Inc. (PBCT) $11.33 7.29%
Zions Bancorporation (ZION) $32.25 7.29%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) $187.14 -9.50%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $42.64 -9.24%
Cincinnati Financial Corp. (CINF) $76.74 -8.96%
Tractor Supply Company (TSCO) $137.02 -8.11%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $76.54 -8.10%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $70.59 -7.75%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $126.65 -7.12%
Kimberly-Clark Corp. (KMB) $138.09 -7.02%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $79.38 -5.98%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $6.86 -5.77%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $453.23 34.97%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $101.04 9.00%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $100.82 5.96%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $48.34 5.85%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,792.02 5.29%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $76.43 4.91%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $66.63 4.73%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $81.73 3.82%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $89.82 3.30%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $67.97 3.22%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $126.65 -7.12%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $203.93 -4.29%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $20.39 -3.04%
Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $20.15 -2.99%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $121.00 -2.78%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $483.60 -2.49%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $358.01 -2.35%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $375.50 -1.96%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $457.13 -1.90%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $109.32 -1.72%