US close: Stocks weaker as Biden confirms huge oil reserves release

Wall Street stocks closed below the waterline in the last session of the quarter on Thursday, as the US president confirmed plans to start daily releases from the country’s strategic oil reserves.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.56% at 34,678.35, as the S&P 500 lost 1.57% to 4,530.41 and the Nasdaq Composite was 1.54% lower at 14,220.52.

The Dow closed 550.46 points lower on Thursday, extending losses from earlier in the session and those recorded on Wednesday.

Commodity prices were in focus at the open, with West Texas Intermediate futures last up 0.82% at $101.10 per barrel, after falling through much of the global day.

Earlier, president Joe Biden confirmed reports that his administration would release one million barrels per day from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves for the next six months.

That came after OPEC and its allies agreed to stick to their plan to up production by 432,000 barrels per day in May, as was widely expected by markets.

On the macro front, inflation continued to mount in the US in February, official data showed on Thursday, putting further pressure on the Federal Reserve.

According to estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, annual core personal consumption expenditures reached 5.4% in February, compared to 5.2% a month earlier and 1.4% in February 2021. It is the fastest pace since 1983.

On a monthly basis, core PCE - the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation - rose 0.4%, in line with forecasts and down marginally on January’s 0.5% gain.

Elsewhere, Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 26 March, according to the Labor Department, with the overall figure rising by 14,000 to 202,000 - above market expectations for a print of 197,000.

Despite the increase, that figure was still close to the prior week's revised level of 188,000 - the lowest seen since 1969.

Still on data, US firms planned to cut 21,387 jobs from their payrolls in March, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas - the most in five months.

Most cuts were due to store, unit, or plant closures and vaccine refusal.

"There appears to be a return of a healthier churn in the labour market. Some US employers report hiring is getting easier, particularly with the incentives many companies put in place to attract and retain talent,” said the consultancy's senior vice-president Andrew Challenger.

“Meanwhile, inflation impacts and war concerns are causing workers who were depending on savings or investments to seek out paid employment.”

In the corporate space, Walgreens Boots Alliance lost 5.67% despite beating earnings estimates for the second quarter, on the back of Omicron-fuelled demand for tests and booster shots.

Dow Jones - Risers

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $222.82 -0.12%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $241.82 -0.31%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.00 -0.34%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $82.05 -0.42%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $55.76 -0.52%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $148.92 -0.63%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $247.28 -0.70%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $63.72 -0.84%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $44.77 -5.67%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.56 -3.64%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $136.32 -3.00%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $299.33 -2.96%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $134.56 -2.87%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $137.16 -2.70%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $509.97 -2.08%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $174.61 -1.78%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $308.31 -1.77%
Boeing Co. (BA) $191.50 -1.75%

S&P 500 - Risers

Carnival Corp. (CCL) $20.22 3.16%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $21.88 3.11%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $83.78 2.82%
McCormick & Co. (MKC) $99.80 2.61%
CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $103.06 2.03%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $480.84 1.88%
Teleflex Inc. (TFX) $354.83 1.87%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $195.67 1.82%
Kroger Co. (KR) $57.37 1.77%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $260.97 1.73%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $109.34 -8.29%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $76.61 -7.35%
HP Inc (HPQ) $36.30 -6.54%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $90.90 -5.73%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $44.77 -5.67%
D. R. Horton Inc. (DHI) $74.51 -5.55%
PulteGroup Inc. (PHM) $41.90 -5.50%
State Street Corp. (STT) $87.12 -5.42%
Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) $113.44 -5.25%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $37.15 -5.16%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $480.84 1.88%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $195.67 1.82%
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $260.97 1.73%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $18.25 1.11%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,348.45 0.88%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $698.42 0.87%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $164.46 0.70%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $333.27 0.20%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $76.88 0.20%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $152.82 0.06%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $132.30 -8.02%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $57.87 -5.89%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $44.77 -5.67%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $23.12 -4.90%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $545.52 -4.31%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $49.56 -3.64%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $57.26 -3.54%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $81.92 -3.05%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $214.35 -3.01%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $131.80 -2.95%