Wall Street struggles Thursday, only Nasdaq gains

NEW YORK, New York – U.S. stocks struggled Thursday with only the Nasdaq Composite of the major indices managing a gain.

“The markets have been on this risk-on risk-off roller coaster because it’s watching the data as the Fed has said ‘we’re going to watch the data,'” Wasif Latif, president and chief investment officer at Sarmaya Partners in Princeton, New Jersey told Reuters Thursday.

“The market is watching the data to get a sense of what the economy is looking like in terms of the landing scenario and what that means for interest rate policy from the Fed.”

The S&P 500 ended the day at 5,503.41, down 16.66 points or 0.30 percent, with a trading volume of 2.439 billion.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 219.22 points, or 0.54 percent, closing at 40,755.75 on a volume of 331.26 million.

However, the NASDAQ Composite rose 43.36 points, or 0.25 percent, closing at 17,127.66 with a higher trading volume of 4.231 billion.

Meanwhile, the NYSE Composite saw a decline of 123.90 points, or 0.65 percent, ending the day at 18,878.02. The NYSE AMEX Composite Index also experienced a drop, losing 45.61 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 4,932.21.

Stock Market Closing Report for Thursday: Mixed Performance Across Global Indices

The global stock markets closed on Thursday with mixed performances across major indices. Some indices posted gains, while others experienced notable declines, reflecting varied market sentiment across regions.

In the UK, the Cboe UK 100 shed 1.67 points, or 0.20 percent, closing at 825.08, while the FTSE 100 fell by 27.89 points, or 0.34 percent, to end at 8,241.71.

Germany’s DAX PERFORMANCE-INDEX closed slightly lower, down 15.35 points or 0.08 percent, at 18,576.50. France’s CAC 40 also declined, losing 69.01 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 7,431.96. The broader Euro Stoxx 50 index dropped 33.03 points, or 0.68 percent, to 4,815.15.

In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed slightly down by 13.04 points, or 0.07 percent, at 17,444.30, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 saw a modest gain of 38.64 points, or 0.11 percent, closing at 36,695.73. China’s SSE Composite Index added 4.04 points, or 0.14 percent, to close at 2,788.31. Singapore’s STI Index gained 17.28 points, or 0.50 percent, to close at 3,458.66.

In South America, Brazil’s IBOVESPA index gained 391.75 points, or 0.29 percent, closing at 136,502.48. Argentina’s MERVAL index, however, saw a sharp decline, dropping 31,455.12 points, or 1.75 percent, to end at 1,765,465.00.

Other notable indices include India’s S&P BSE SENSEX, which fell by 151.48 points, or 0.18 percent, closing at 82,201.16, and South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index, which dropped 26.65 points, or 1.03 percent, to finish at 2,548.85.

In terms of currency indices, the US Dollar Index fell slightly by 0.07 points, or 0.07 percent, closing at 101.04. The British Pound Currency Index rose by 0.30 points, or 0.23 percent, closing at 131.78, while the Euro Currency Index added 0.27 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 111.10.

Volatility was lower, as the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) fell 1.42 points, or 6.66 percent, ending the day at 19.90.

Photo credit: Big News Network news agency.