Last Updated: 4:00 PM EST
Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the red after this morning’s GDP estimates came in way lower than expected for Q1. In fact, GDP growth was 1.6% versus expectations of 2.5%. As a result, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 0.55%, 0.46%, and 0.98%, respectively.
Furthermore, the Department of Labor released its Initial Jobless Claims report, which came in better than expected. In the past week, 207,000 people filed for unemployment insurance for the first time. Expectations were for 214,000 individuals.
In addition, Continuing Jobless Claims, which measures the number of unemployed people who qualify for unemployment insurance, came in at 1.781 million. This was below the forecast of 1.814 million and lower than last week’s print of 1.796 million.
Also, the National Association of Realtors released its Pending Home Sales report, which measures the month-over-month change in the number of home sales that have yet to close but are contracted to be sold. This measure excludes homes that are newly constructed.
During March, Pending Home Sales increased by 3.4% compared to February, which was better than the expected 0.3% decrease. This is after a 1.6% increase in the previous report.
First Published: 4:42 AM EST
The U.S. futures edged lower on Thursday morning as investors awaited the release of Q1 advance gross domestic product (GDP) numbers. Moreover, earnings releases from leading tech giants, including Meta Platforms (META) and IBM (IBM), dampened investors’ sentiment. The futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were down by about 1.23%, 0.70%, and 0.28%, respectively, at 3.42 a.m. EST, April 25.
In after-hours trading, Meta stock dropped over 15% after the company offered soft revenue guidance. Meanwhile, IBM stock fell 8.5% as its Q1 top line fell short of the Street’s expectations.
On the earnings front, tech giants, including Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Intel (INTC), will release their quarterly financials today. Wall Street is upbeat about MSFT and GOOGL stock ahead of the quarterly print. Meanwhile, analysts are sidelined on INTC stock.
Turning to this week’s economic reports, the Q1 2024 GDP (advance estimate) is due for release today. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), U.S. economic growth is estimated to have slowed to 2.1% in Q1 from 3.4% in Q4.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down at the time of writing, floating near 4.6%. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures trended higher, hovering near $83.06 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European markets opened lower, with the food and beverage sector exerting downward pressure. Traders are also eyeing key economic indicators, such as France’s business climate data and Germany’s consumer sentiment survey.
Asia-Pacific Markets Remained Mixed Today
Asia-Pacific indices remained mixed on Thursday with the commencement of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy meeting. In addition, investors assessed South Korea’s solid Q1 GDP growth.
Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices fell 2.16% and 1.74%, respectively. On the other hand, China’s Shanghai Composite and Shenzhen Component indices rose by 0.27% and 0.14%, respectively. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.36%.
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