US close: Stocks turn weaker by end of trading

Wall Street’s main indices reversed earlier gains to close weaker on Thursday, following the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting and a number of data points earlier in the session.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.02% at 34,160.78, as the S&P 500 lost 0.54% to 4,326.51 and the Nasdaq Composite was off 1.4% at 13,352.78.

The Dow closed 7.31 points lower on Thursday, adding to the losses recorded in the previous session as investors digested news that the Federal Reserve was "of a mind" to raise interest rates as soon as March.

The central bank was still in focus on Thursday, after holding its benchmark rate near zero overnight while also strongly indicating that the first hike since late 2018 would come in March.

Fed chairman Jerome Powell shook markets when he said the Federal Reserve had "quite a bit of room" to raise rates before negatively impacting employment.

Traders in the Fed funds futures market were now pricing in five quarter-percentage-point increases in 2022.

On the macro front, new orders for manufactured durable goods decreased 0.9% to $267.6bn in December, according to the Census Bureau, following a revised 3.2% increase in November.

Elsewhere, an advance reading of fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth revealed GDP accelerated at a 6.9% annualised pace in the final three months, according to the Commerce Department, well ahead of the 5.5% estimate.

Still on data, initial jobless claims fell for the first time in four weeks in the seven days ended 22 January, slipping 260,000 from the prior week's upwardly revised print of 290,000, according to the Labor Department.

The decline, which came after jobless claims hit a three-month high a week earlier, seemingly implies that some of the Covid-19 Omicron variant-related disruptions that had been weighing on the labour market's recovery may be fading.

Finally, pending home sales fell for a second straight month in December, dropping a far sharper than expected 3.8%, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Economists had anticipated seeing pending home sales fall 0.9% over the festive period.

In the corporate space, fast-food giant McDonald's closed down 0.44% after it posted quarterly earnings and revenues short of analysts' expectations, as increased costs weighed on profits.

Comcast was off 0.93% after the cable operator and Sky owner posted earnings that beat expectations, but fell short of meeting new internet subscriber numbers.

On the upside, Mastercard was 1.7% firmer after it exceeded earnings expectations with its fourth-quarter figures as consumer spending continued to rebound throughout the all-important holiday season.

Dow Jones - Risers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $60.18 5.17%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $135.37 2.02%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $80.58 1.82%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $135.42 1.36%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $170.61 1.31%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $299.84 1.05%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $212.74 0.82%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $461.60 0.69%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $224.00 0.66%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $159.19 0.62%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.05 -7.04%
Boeing Co. (BA) $189.75 -2.33%
American Express Co. (AXP) $171.90 -1.95%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $145.31 -1.76%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $165.66 -1.31%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $132.52 -1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $54.62 -1.28%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $212.17 -0.99%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $341.03 -0.48%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $248.58 -0.44%

S&P 500 - Risers

Ball Corp (BLL) $93.99 8.57%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $103.68 7.65%
Packaging Corp. Amer (PKG) $143.49 7.56%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $386.70 7.51%
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $98.20 6.81%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $96.74 3.98%
United Rentals Inc. (URI) $320.02 3.91%
Discovery Inc. Class C (DISCK) $24.74 3.60%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $20.99 3.55%
Discovery Inc. Class A (DISCA) $25.24 3.44%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $102.60 -7.33%
Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) $373.79 -7.25%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $66.67 -7.11%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.05 -7.04%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $555.30 -6.93%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $277.30 -6.68%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $75.97 -6.34%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $101.96 -6.14%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $19.11 -5.82%
Arconic Inc. (ARNC) $29.73 -5.41%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $103.68 7.65%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $386.70 7.51%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $6.13 2.51%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $517.22 1.92%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $106.03 1.74%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $992.50 1.73%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $67.47 1.28%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $561.03 1.09%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $299.84 1.05%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $471.08 0.98%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $829.10 -11.55%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.05 -7.04%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $555.30 -6.93%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $66.68 -6.23%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $361.80 -4.94%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $71.04 -4.50%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $130.15 -4.01%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $78.72 -3.96%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $82.75 -3.92%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $24.35 -3.87%